When Victoria answered his question by saying that she had been looking for weapons, Vail sighed to himself. He understood as well as he could why she was so determined to avenge her father’s death, but he wished she wouldn’t be so reckless about it. The task of killing Lord Spencer seemed nearly impossible after everything she had told him about the Order’s involvement in the affair. If she wanted to pull it off, she was going to have to carefully plan out every detail of the murder. Right now, it seemed like she was just gunning for the first opportunity to aim a pistol at him.

As she stood up rather shakily, he was quick to rise as well, keeping an eye on her in case she needed help getting about. Fortunately, she seemed like she was able to move without collapsing, so he merely followed her with his eyes as she hobbled to the crossbow in the corner of the room. He noticed that she seemed more unsteady on her feet than he would have expected for someone who had just been exposed to the cold. He narrowed his eyes contemplatively. Perhaps there was something else that was wrong with her, something that would have caused her to fall outside the lodge in the first place.

As she murmured the words “not safe,” his suspicion only increased. Her father’s death had been tragic for her, but it was in the past. She had to be talking about something else. He took a step after her, intending to question her further, but halted when she opened the box of silver bullets. Involuntarily, he curled his lip at the putrid smell and recoiled further from the metal.

When the box was closed again, he relaxed enough to focus on what Victoria was saying. He frowned as she brought up Spencer’s name, claiming that the Wynter had found out about them. He couldn’t help but wonder how the other vampire had discovered their secret. All the bite marks he left on her body were easily concealed beneath clothes. Perhaps Spencer had caught his scent on her? He hoped that was the only evidence he’d found. The thought of another man getting as close to her as he had made him bristle.

“Slow down,” Vail instructed calmly, stepping over to kneel by her side and resting his hand on her back. He hoped that if he didn’t lose his temper, she would calm down enough to relax too. “What happened?” he asked, attempting to meet her gaze in the low light. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Victoria could feel his hand on her back. It did bring her out of her reckless flurry. She took a deep breath as he asked her to slow down. His attempt to catch her gaze was met with success as she slowly looked up at him. “Spencer…he….smelled you on me…” She began to explain, her voice started out slightly shaky. “I was so stupid…..he caught me by surprise, I couldn’t….hide it in time.” She continued as she wiped her eyes dry. “H-he…” She couldn’t bring herself to tell Vail what he had done to her. She trembled visibly more, he’d be able to feel it on her back.

She took a deep breath, and gulped and she had to avert her gaze from his mesmerising hazel eyes. “He…” Her voice was but a whimper. “He stripped me….saw the marks and…..he….” She gripped the gun tightly and made it shake more. “The next thing I knew I was…..on the floor…pain surging through me.” She rasped steadily and took a deeper breath. “When I next awoke I was…..in bed.” She couldn’t quite remember how she got there and had a perplexed expression. She glanced at Vail. The next part was even harder to tell him. She had to admit she was weak and unable to handle herself.

“I couldn’t move.” She decided to explain it from her timeline of recollection. “I noticed…my blood was being…drained. Severely.” She revealed that would explain her body’s weakness and its frailty to the cold. “Then…later….Spencer was there and…..I was……unclothed.” She got shakier as she went on to explain it to him. “He told me….that I was his, my blood was to be enjoyed by the Wynters by the bottle…..and that my body….shouldn’t be marked or branded…especially by a Hygrace. Then he….” She trembled and sniffled. “He tried to……” She put her hand over her mouth, she felt sickened. “…Rape me…” She said it and burst into tears as she couldn’t keep it bottled up. She was still traumatised by that moment. Thank God for Ray’s intervention.

As Victoria began to explain what had happened, Vail listened to her patiently. He could tell she was still struggling to keep from growing hysteric as she thought about what she had been through, so pushing her to speak faster wouldn’t help either of them. Instead, he simply held her gaze and ran his hand down and up her back in a soothing gesture, hoping she would remain calm enough to tell him everything before she broke down from the overwhelming emotions.

When she described how her fiancé had found out about them, it seemed his guess about Spencer had been right. After the last night they had been together, his scent had been strong enough on her body for the rival vampire to catch. He clenched his jaw, feeling her tremble beneath his fingertips. He could already tell that the Wynter had reacted poorly to the discovery from her body language alone. Despite his intention to remain calm, he could feel his blood beginning to boil at the thought of what the Lord might have done to her in his anger.

As Victoria went on, he forced a slow breath. Not only had Spencer defiled the Lady by stripping her, it sounded like he had hurt her as well. And that wasn’t even the end of it. He couldn’t hide the look of shock that crossed his features when she described how the Wynter had drained her of her blood. The knowledge made him stiffen as his reign on his temper grew less stable. He couldn’t stand the thought of another vampire feeding on her in such an abominable way. To drink it from a bottle? It was completely unnatural.

Besides that, the possessive part of him loathed knowing that anyone else would taste so much as a single drop of the precious liquid that flowed through her veins. He wanted it all to himself, wanted her all to himself. It sickened him to know that another vampire had stolen her blood when he hadn’t been around to stop it. She was his prey to have at his pleasure, and he wasn’t willing to share.

He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again when she went on to reveal, to his horror, that there was still more to the story. At her final words, anger flashed across his face. Somehow, knowing that Spencer had tried to take advantage of her weakened body was even more infuriating than finding out that he had drained her blood. He was as protective of her as if she was his betrothed, and he wouldn’t stand for any other man who wished to take from her what she had given to him.

“I’m going to kill him,” the words came out in a dangerously quiet snarl. He trembled slightly with barely restrained fury. “I don’t care if it’s not safe. That devil has done enough. I’m going to end him for this.”

Victoria leaned against Vail as she got more upset, she cried into her hands and then slowly turned to bury herself in his chest and cry against him instead. She trembled in his grasp. He needed him, more than as just a friend or even a shoulder to cry on. She needed him as a protector. And she wanted him as a lover, no matter how impossible it might be to succeed. She had never been soothed like he had soothed her by gently running his hand up and down her delicate back.

After a few minutes her sobbing had almost ceased to a sniffle. “Vail…” She managed to grasp just enough at the sides of his shirt, though her fingers still weak and shaky. She slowly looked up at him, her eyes reddened with tears and her cheeks wet. “…You’re…serious?” She had to ask and double check what he just snarled. She saw the anger behind his eyes. He was really upset by what she told him. More than he should be. “…Why?” She had to hear it from him, she surmised it was his possessiveness over her blood. But was there more reasoning behind his quiet fury? She’d never seen him like this before. And why didn’t he care about the danger of attempting to kill Spencer? A Wynter no less. He would spur the entire Wynter clan against him and his family? It must be a big enough deal to warrant such a vow of vengeance.

He also mentioned he would end him for this specific act of violence toward Lady Crest. She blinked at him slowly, examining his face carefully. “You would really incur the wrath of the Wynters…for me?” She seemed perplexed, as if she didn’t understand his motivation. Was he really just that addicted to her blood, that he meant that he would kill Spencer for draining her of so much blood to a dangerous level? He was only here for one thing surely – her blood. If she had not seduced him on their previous encounter, then he would not have known such carnal pleasures of her flesh. Perhaps he wanted more, like she did. She knew that she could not stop thinking about that night they laid together. It was the most she had felt alive in her life.

As Victoria buried her head against his chest, Vail wrapped his arm around her in a gesture that was meant to comfort but was also innately protective. Still seething from what he had learned about Spencer, he found it impossible to think of any words to sooth her. All he could focus on was picturing the creative ways by which he would exact revenge on the Wynter for the things he had done. Draining the Lady of her blood in such a cruel and unnatural manner was twisted, but even more so, he was sickened to discover that another man had tried to force himself upon her when she could do nothing to defend herself. If he had been close enough to catch wind of what had been going on, he had no doubt in his mind that he would have killed the other vampire on the spot.

He looked down at Victoria as she feebly asked if he was serious. There was a tremor of confusion in her voice that demanded an explanation. Until now, he had been quiet about the depths of his feelings toward her, but there was no way to answer her questions without revealing more about how much he had come to care for her—about how he cared for her more than any vampire should ever care for a human. In his heart, he had already crossed that line. Hiding it had only delayed the inevitable confession.

“Without hesitation,” he professed when she queried if he would really face the Wynters’ wrath for her. The games were over. He was certain about how he felt about her, and if he was going to give his all to keep her safe from a monster like Spencer, there was no more reason to pretend like he only saw her as a blood bag.

Swayed by the weight of his conviction, he brought a hand to Victoria’s cheek and leaned in to press his lips against hers. He kissed her deeply, no longer held back by the reservations that had plagued him before. He was committed to the fate he’d chosen. The repercussions were inconsequential.

When he pulled back again, there was determination mingled with the anger in his eyes. “I would do anything for you, Victoria. You’re more to me than just the blood in your veins. If killing that bastard is what it takes for me to be with you, then I’ll drive the bullet through his heart with my hand.”

Victoria felt one hundred times better when Vail wrapped his arm around her protectively. His silence was almost deafening as she cried. She thought he must be seething with anger. As he revealed that he would truly take the consequence for Spencer’s death and his answer was so filled with conviction, she blinked, a single tear drop fell from her chin. As his hand took her chin with such a delicate touch, her heart practically skipped. He wasn’t here just to feed on her, he wanted to give her affection by the looks of it. She welcomed his lips onto hers as she kissed him back just as deeply as he kissed her. She couldn’t hide her rising pheromones.

Lady Crest smiled as Vail pulled his lips away from hers as she let out a long exhale. She had no idea the extent of his own wrath for the Lord after learning what he had done to her. A human whom he had now claimed that he would do anything for. Anything. He admitted that she was more than just a source of blood and nutrition for his needs and desires. But not only that, he said he wanted to be with her. That was a bold statement to make. As far as she knew, vampires and humans could not be together. Whether it was culturally unacceptable to vampires to be with their prey, she didn’t know. Humans, however, well the humans who knew about vampires, she hadn’t met anyone who thought it was fine for a vampire and a human to be romantically involved.

Victoria stared into Vail’s eyes as she felt like her heart would burst from her chest. “You…want to….be with me?” Even if he had to drive a silver bullet through his adversary’s heart himself barehanded was an even bolder statement. He had to be truly sure of himself and his capabilities to vow to do such a thing, against a Wynter no less. Suddenly she felt less shaky, less scared and…hopeful for once in her life. A vampire who could actually care for a human was no easy feat and no other human could claim that one had vowed to do anything for them as Vail had declared so openly to Victoria.

Without further hesitation, she grasped at his hand as much as she could and brought it to her face and she kissed the back of it and then nuzzled her cheek against his fingers. “Oh Vail..” She closed her eyes and sighed softly, taking in his presence, his cologne, his everything. Dare she express the joy in her fluttering heart to her truest feelings to this dangerous creature of the night? That she couldn’t stop thinking about him. That every time she closed her eyes, he was there. That thoughts of seeing him again was the only thing keeping her going as she was bed ridden and helplessly kept prisoner in her own manor. “Is it really that simple?” She wondered how easy he thought being with her would be. Would Spencer be their only barrier? “If you kill Spencer…the Wynter’s will never let you get away with it…they’ll hunt us til the ends of the Earth.” She warned him with a pained expression. “I couldn’t bear it…if something happened to you…I…..want to be with you too.” She confessed as her cheeks fully flushed red.

Having finally confessed the feelings he had kept buried for so long, Vail knew there was no going back anymore. Victoria knew where his head was at now, and he had no doubts that she felt the same way toward him. The rapid beating of her fragile heart was enough to give that away. He could hear the faint pounding and smell her heightened pheromones and knew his words had been received well. It just made him even more certain that this was the right choice. What did it matter if their romance was frowned upon? Perhaps he would be more vulnerable to the Order by giving more of himself to a human than he should; perhaps he would even die, but he didn’t care. The Crest heiress had become too precious to him to give up, and he would fight to be with her if he had to.

Of course, there were still some loose ends that needed tying—namely in regard to his father and the newly arranged marriage he had been forced into. He was still unsure what his newfound conviction would mean for his relationship to his family. It would be difficult for him to explain why he couldn’t marry Sylvia without bringing up the human woman whom had captivated his heart instead. Peter would never approve of his decision to be with Victoria, but the consequences of their inevitable fight were still unclear. He only hoped they would be able to make amends when the dust finally settled.

“I’ve told you before,” a smile pulled at the corner of his lip when she looked at him with such surprise. “I believe you’re worth it, My Lady. It just took me until now to realize how much I want all of you.” As he spoke, he lifted his hand to brush a wisp of hair from her delicate face, only to pause when she took his hand and brought it to her lips. The weakness in her grip reminded him of everything she had been through, and for a moment, his anger toward Spencer the Order was reignited. However, the flame died quickly when he saw the gentleness in her expression, and a tenderness for her rose up in its place.

“It may never be simple,” he admitted in a hushed voice. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t try.” He was done turning a blind eye to his own desires just because someone else was in the way. It was cowardly to roll over every time he didn’t have a clear path to obtain what he wanted. He knew it was the way of his kind. Vampires usually survived for centuries because they took the safe route, but what was a life of longevity without passion? He didn’t want to go about every day settling for less, just because it guaranteed him another day on this earth. Not anymore.

“I’ll handle the Wynters,” he promised Victoria, caressing her cheek with his fingers. The blush that painted her fair skin was endearing, and it warmed him to hear her profess that she wanted to be with him too. “They may hunt us, but it will never come to anything more than that. You give me more of a reason to live than I’ve ever had before, Victoria. I won’t let anyone get between us.” As if to prove his point, he pressed another kiss to her lips and breathed, “You are mine and no one else’s. I’m not going to allow him to hurt you anymore.”

Victoria lost herself in his eyes, he had no need to use his vampiric charm over her to seduce her into letting him feed on her blood because he knew she would give it to him willingly. So, what she really got lost within was the infatuation itself that she held for him. She had never met anyone as enticing, as exciting and charming as Lord Hygrace. Not only did he whisk her off her feet the moment they met with his amazing footwork and the way he danced with her, he had simply piqued her curiosity to his own persona that made her want to get to know him.

The way he brushed a strand of her hair away from her face, the very simplest of acts made her swell with affection for the vampire. He was just like any other human, capable of love and care. Why couldn’t The Order see past their fangs? Things had to change, only she could change their thinking with proof that Vail wasn’t the horrible monster they made him out to be. She smiled coyly at him just as if it were their first intimate encounter all over again. He had told her before – that he thought she was worth it. Somehow, it just hadn’t sunk in yet. When he admitted he wanted all of her, she wondered if that meant more than just as a simple lover or secret mistress? Would he even tell his family about her? Her mother knew of this ordeal and so did Gerald who was her supposed Godfather.

She gazed down softly as he revealed it would never be simple. Of course, it could be, if they wanted it to be. Here, a man simply loved a woman. But The Order saw no man, they saw a monster. It was as bad as if they pre-judged him based on any colour, culture or religion. They were quite simply racist. Racist against a higher evolved form of humanity. Perhaps they were just jealous they did not possess superior power. As he mentioned they should at least try, she smiled brightly despite her inner weakness. It was if Vail himself were her medicine and made her feel one hundred times better.

As he told her that he would handle the Wynters, her anxiety only heightened. How was he going to handle them? Her blue eyes flickered with worry in the dim candlelight of the lodge. She gulped lightly as he expressed, they would be hunted. She nodded slightly, there was no dying they would all say she was manipulated by him, taken in by his vampiric pheromones. That was far from the truth, she felt strongly about Vail since they met because of his charming personality and their shared banter in the beginning. But when he revealed to her that she gave him a reason to live, and that he wouldn’t let anyone get between them.

She was so overwhelmed by his emotional confession that her eyes welled up with water. This time her tears were derived from joy. She closed her eyes upon receiving his second kiss, causing a tear to roll down her delicate cheek. She smiled when he said she was his and only his and vowed not to let Spencer hurt her again. She gazed into his hazel eyes and took both his hands into hers. “I’m all yours Vail Hygrace…” Even though she made the initial deal with him that if he got rid of Spencer, only then she would be his whenever and however he wanted, she made it clear that that time was now. “…Nobody else’s.”

She leaned in to reciprocate her desire for him and planted her lips against his as if she couldn’t get enough of his affection. She was unsure if he still wanted to keep feeding on her the way he did or if she could give him the satisfaction he needed from her weakened life stream, nonetheless she exhaled her hot breath against his neck as they parted lips and presented him with her neckline as she exposed her collar to his eyeline. As she had told him, he could have her any way and anywhere he wanted. She was his now.

As Victoria looked at him with that coy smile of hers, Vail felt his heart beat a little quicker, and he knew he was starting to fall for this woman. It was a curious thought. He’d always believed he would either remain alone or have his marriage arranged to another vampire by his father. Being with someone for the sake of love had never appealed to him. It wasn’t that he thought there was anything wrong with the concept, but there had never been another person who had piqued his desire like this before. Even Sylvia, whom he had gotten along with when they had last met, hadn’t interested him in a romantic way. He had found her to be pleasant company but nothing more. His emotions toward her were nothing like what he felt about Lady Crest, the intriguing human who had captivated his heart and mind in a way no other woman ever had.

He wished it could be simple. He wished he could just tell his father that he wanted to be with Victoria and gain his approval to wed her instead, but it would never be that easy. Even if he killed her current fiancé and eliminated his competition, Peter wouldn’t allow his only heir to marry a human, a mortal who could offer their elite family nothing of value. To the leader of the Hygraces, his eventual marriage was a tool to be used to gain favor with another clan that would make them stronger, like the Maceys. His father would never willingly let him squander such an opportunity by giving himself to a Crest instead.

Regardless, he was done being someone else’s tool. If Peter would object to his decision, he would stand his ground without wavering. He was not going to marry Sylvia, because his heart already belonged to another. If that meant confessing to the clan leader that he had broken one of their most closely kept rules, then so be it.

Firm in his decision for the first time, Vail didn’t hesitate to lace his fingers with Victoria’s as she took his hands in hers. Her skin still felt cool to the touch, a symptom he had realized was due to the blood that had been drained from her delicate body rather than the cold outside. He hoped the little heat that his own nonhuman frame put off would warm her, if only by a degree.

As she held his gaze, he let himself get lost in the deep blue pools of her irises that were watery with fresh tears. Hearing her profess that she would be his and no one else’s sent a shiver up his spine, and he leaned in to meet her halfway as she kissed him. Everything about the way he spoke and acted with her was new but also thrilling. He reveled in the feelings she stirred inside of him, things he had never felt with anyone else in his two centuries on earth. It was interesting to him that even though he had been alive for so long, there were still aspects of living that he had yet to explore.

With her supple neck exposed before his eyes, he could already feel the saliva begin to flow from his glands. Knowing she had just had so much of her blood emptied from her body only days before, he would not take much, but he also would not deny the meal she offered to him now. Letting go of her right hand, he lifted his hand to rest between her shoulders as he trailed his tongue over her warm skin. Intermittently, he brought his lips to her collar to kiss her as well, letting his affection seep through his bloodlust and quicken his heartbeat with mingled desire. She was his prey, but she was also so much more, so he would take his time before the bite.

Holding her close to himself by her upper back, he turned his head slightly to place a kiss on her jaw just before he finally sank his fangs into the soft flesh above her collarbone.

Lady Victoria had lost around 30% of her blood count a few days ago, she was still recovering the dizzy effects no thanks to Lord Spencer. Her increased iron count did help replicate the cells faster than the average person but would still take a few weeks to return to normal strength. Her body was still making millions of red blood cells every second, but her pressure was still nowhere near able to pump the blood around her body to the capacity Vail would be used to when drawing her blood. Although she revelled in his gentle kisses along her neck and jaw, when he punctured her flesh above her collarbone, she gasped. It hurt far more than usual. Her skin was not as resistant, and the blood was too thin and watery, so much so that it wouldn’t stop flowing or clot. It would need to be bandaged over properly and secured, even from the small fang puncture holes.

She knew this was a stupid and reckless idea, allowing him to feed but she could not deny him his pleasures she sorely loved to give to him. She loved the power she had to affect the vampire in such a primal way. She was as much addicted to giving him the pleasure of her blood as he was to drink it. She began to feel incredibly faint and her heart worked harder to pump the blood around the rest of her muscles around the shoulder. She felt the area go numb, with a pins and needle effect. She grasped at Vail as she became distressed. She yelped and fell limp into the vampire’s arms. She felt as helpless as she did when Spencer drained her. She wasn’t coping so well with Vail’s bite this time. Victoria moaned weakly as if she were in incredible pain. She couldn’t keep her eyes open, but she was still aware of her surroundings. “V….V….ail…” She weakly muttered in a hushed whisper before she drifted in and out of consciousness. Her blood still trickling out of the fang wounds non-stop until he put something in its way. It just wouldn’t slow down at all like the last few times he’d fed on her.

She just hoped this was not the last time she’d see the world, or the face of the man she had come to care so deeply for. Dare she even admit it – loved? She knew her mother would never approve of the vampire, she knew Vail’s family would never approve of her. It was time to show her mother and The Order just how much a vampire was capable of being more than a predator to humans and to show Vail’s parents just how much she really cared for their son and would not allow The Order to get to him. Even if that meant infiltrating The Order to dispatch the corruption that brewed within it, herself. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to keep Vail alive, she’d do anything for him just as he had said he would for her. Now she understood where his head truly lay, she felt the happiest she’d ever been. Just knowing that this incredible man cared for her was enough to keep her going. She’d never give up. Her body would never give up fighting to survive. Just to spend one more night with the man who now haunted her dreams.

As soon as Victoria gasped at the feeling of his fangs, Vail could tell something was wrong. Though she had flinched at his bite before, she had never responded as if she was in that much pain. Wary that she wasn’t handling it as well as usual, he kept her in the corner of his vision as he retracted his teeth from her neck. The blood that followed flowed more freely than usual, albeit noticeably slower. It was just as addicting to him as always though, and it didn’t take long before he was distracted by the rich taste that wetted his tongue. Surely she was fine anyway. Even if the puncture had hurt her more this time, it was over now. The rest of his feed couldn’t do any more damage than the initial bite already had, so he relaxed again.

However, it wasn’t long before he began to feel suspicious that something else was wrong with her. Her blood, though delicious as always, had a strange consistency as if it had been mixed with water. He pulled back slightly, confused. He had never fed on a human who had already been drained of her blood in such excess before, so he hadn’t known about the effect it was going to have on her. He was quick to make the connection though. What else could have caused a reaction like this aside from what Spencer had done to her days before? He was certain that the other vampire was to blame.

He was just about to tell her that he was going to stop so she could treat the bite, when suddenly, he smelled a spike in her fear pheromones, and she grasped at his shirt. The unexpected movement made him tense, just in time for him to brace her as she fell into his arms. It appeared she had been too weak for him to feed on after all. He studied her still-bleeding wound with a frown, absently wondering why she had offered her neck to him if she couldn’t withstand the blood loss. There wasn’t time to ponder over it now though. Her punctures weren’t clotting. She needed something to put pressure on the injury.

As she moaned and whispered his name, he hushed her gently. “Just lie still,” he murmured, carefully laying her down on the floor. He would have moved her to the lounge, where she would have been more comfortable, but he didn’t want to jostle her too much, so he set her where she was while he looked over the room for something he could use to treat her wound. There wasn’t much, but after a moment, his eyes landed on the table. It was lined with a decorative cloth that looked easy enough to tear.

He stood up from where he had been kneeling and stepped over to the furniture, gripping the edge of the cloth firmly as he ripped off a piece lengthwise. With the makeshift bandage in hand, he crouched down by Victoria again and got to work patching her injury. It didn’t take long—he merely tied the fabric around her neck like a choker—and when it was done, he picked her up to move to the chaise lounge. He set her down gingerly and sat beside her, resting one hand over the cloth to add more pressure.

Gazing down at her, his expression softened slightly, and he trailed his free hand against her cheek. She looked so frail to him, and he was reminded that she was more fragile than one of his kind. He needed to remember to be more careful with her in the future, so he wouldn’t cause her to become this weak again.

“Victoria, how are you feeling?” he asked in a quiet tone. He was unsure if she was fully conscious or not, but either way, he hoped the sound of his voice would bring her some comfort in the midst of her pain.

As soon as Vail told her to lie still, his reassurance helped her to relax a little, and his soothing voice was comforting. She could still feel everything around her, hear everything around her. She waited for him to move away and return with a bandage. She gently raised a limp hand then it fell back down again weakly. She could feel him wrap something around her neck. She started to shiver from the cold again and the adrenaline spike caused her muscles to shake even more.

As he picked her up, her weight was a lot lighter than she usually was. She had lost a lot of weight so suddenly from being bed ridden that her muscles had slightly withered. She was thin before but now she was even thinner, scarily so. She could feel his hand exert pressure upon her wound. She sharply inhaled as he touched her skin, it felt like it was on fire. But soon it settled down and she resumed a normal breathing rate. As she felt him sit beside her, she could feel his eyes upon her, as if she knew he was watching her.

She knew he obviously cared for her, it reassured her that he was capable of feeling human emotions. This man was no monster. This man was her hero, her rescuer. Not only from Spencer but from the first vampire whom had attacked her in the alleyway a few weeks back ad hopefully from The Order and Wynters in the future. She smiled weakly as his hand touched her cheek and she was reminded that he did indeed care for her. Even with such strength within him, he could still be so soft and tender with her. She could hear his voice speak to her and ask how she was feeling, she could tell from his tone that he was concerned for her welfare. This warmed her heart further toward the vampire.

Victoria exhaled heavily and attempted to open her eyes, if only for a second to glimpse at him sat next to her, looking down at her with his soft expression. “Tired...” She managed to whisper. She used a hand to feel around for his arm. Once she found it, she gently rested her arm over it. As if she wanted him to cradle her and make her feel safe. “I’m sorry...” She exhaled slowly. Her breathing became harder as she exhausted what little energy she had on talking. She thought she could handle him drinking from her essence. She overestimated herself.

When Victoria smiled at his touch, Vail felt himself relax. It was good to see that she was still responsive, even if she was weak from his bite. He trailed his fingers down her cheek and through her thick hair, keeping a close watch over her just in case she might take a turn for the worse. She seemed to be calm enough to start recovering though, so he wasn’t worried. He would just wait for her to regain the strength to move on her own again, so he could be sure she would be alright without his help.

As she answered his question in a whisper, he nodded in understanding. Though he had never experienced a weakness like she was going through now, he had been injured before. Whenever he took a more serious wound like a gunshot, he would always sleep more often until his body healed. Right now, she needed rest too. He glanced at the window. As much as he enjoyed her company, he knew he shouldn’t keep her from her family for much longer. The best place for her to get better was in her own bed.

He had to wonder how she would make it back though. Even if she summoned enough strength to move on her own, he didn’t expect he to be in any condition to walk by herself, and the cold outside would certainly make her health wane again. However, it was also dangerous for him to accompany her to the doorstep while there were Saints around. To do so would have been practically asking to be killed. Even if he was trying to help her, the hunters would just assume he was killing her somehow and use their misbelief as a reason to murder one of the “demons” they so despised. They made him sick.

Feeling her grasp feebly at his arm, he looked down at her again and shook his head. “You have nothing to be sorry about,” he murmured, continuing to run his hand over her head in a soothing gesture. “You didn’t ask for any of this to happen. I should have known better than to take any more of your blood when you had already been depleted too.” In hindsight, it would have been smarter to simply nick her skin to get a few drops rather than sink his fangs so deeply into her flesh when she was in this condition. He wished he would have thought it through before he’d given in to his addiction.

“Just rest,” he instructed her gently, leaning down to kiss her cold forehead. At the moment, the most important thing was getting her strength back, so they could figure out what to do from here.

Victoria shook her head as Vail blamed himself for her worsened state. She had known better than to let him feed. “It’s….my fault…” She didn’t wish to disappoint him as he had obviously come looking for another fix for his addiction to her blood. For if it were merely for the pleasure of her flesh or company, he could probably have waited a few more days before seeing her. She was glad he came when he had though, he had just saved her life. Now they were sort of even. Though it was her fault she endangered his life the first time with Ray. The second was on him as he had tracked her down when she had been captured by Gerald. That one didn’t count as her fault, directly.

All of these recent memories passed through her mind when he told her to rest and she nodded, allowing herself to relax. She smiled even more with a contented moan as he planted a kiss on her forehead and snuggled under his coat and arm that rested atop her torso. “Stay...?” She asked almost pleadingly to the vampire. She didn’t want to be left alone, she practically clung onto his hand then. She couldn’t face going back to the mansion either having found out about Gerald’s betrayal. She needed her strength to confront him.

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Gerald decided to check in on Victoria, whom he believed to be asleep in her room. He ventured to her room quietly and gingerly opened the door so as not to wake her. He popped his head in, it was completely dark, as to be expected. He had to check on her weak pulse and ensure she was still breathing. As he got to the bed, he noticed she wasn’t in it. He pulled the covers off to see if she was hiding anything, nothing. He looked around the moonlit room and then turned on an oil filled lantern.

As the light filled more of the room, he scouted for any clues. Then he spotted a journal on her dresser table. He ventured toward it and picked it up, he realised it was the journal that was once in his coat pocket. The penny dropped. She knew. “Shite!” He cursed and took the journal with him as he fled the room. “She’s gone! Find her!” He shouted to one of the Saints at the door. Soon they all scrambled, Ray, Lady Diana, Gerald and a few servants who slept in the basement.

In the summer house, Victoria was awoken to sounds of shouting coming from the estate’s grounds. Various people calling out her name in hopes to find her. They knew she had fled. She gasped and sat up. “Don’t let them take me!” She pleaded to Vail with fear in her eyes. Gerald shouted across the forest and noticed the summer house lights on. He figured she must have gone there. When she heard his voice, her eyes turned to fiery rage and her voice let out a low growl. “Gerald….” She felt adrenaline pump into her veins, her heart rate increased, her breathing quickened, her fists clenched. Something had obviously incurred her wrath about this man since she had last encountered him in Vail’s presence. She now knew her father’s murderer. “He killed my father…” She told Vail with a hint of sadness but her voice mostly filled with vengeance. None of the Saints could be trusted, bar Ray. She hadn’t managed to indulge him to the information about his superior. “He made a bargain with the Wynters and he let Spencer do this to me…” Gerald was meant to be her secret god father. But she could only trust Vail now.

“Of course,” Vail murmured when Victoria asked him to stay. Even if she hadn’t made the request, he couldn’t bring himself to leave her alone when she was in such a dismal state. At the very least, he was going to wait with her long enough to make sure she was able to get back to her family’s manor without collapsing again. He cared about her too much to do anything less. It went against reason, he knew, but reason had long since fled from him, only to be replaced with the convincing presence of emotions he had never experienced before. A protectiveness for the fragile human in his arms planted him firmly in the summer house. He would not be going anywhere unless he had to that night.

Gently, he stroked the edge of her pale jaw with his thumb, careful not to disturb her rest. It astounded him how deeply his possessiveness of her ran when they hadn’t known each other for more than a few weeks—just a speck on his immortal timeline. Yet, here he was, prepared to spend however many hours he needed to ensure she would not be alone while she recovered from the weakness that had overtaken her body. It was a peculiar thought. He had never cared about anyone this much before, except, perhaps, for his own family, for whom he would gladly give his life to keep safe. They had been part of his life far longer than she had though.

Absently, he let his hazel eyes drift away from her slumbering face to the window. There was nothing for him to do aside from wait for her to wake up, but he was patient enough. Besides, he had come to enjoy being in her presence, even if the time was filled with silence. She had a soothing quality about her that helped him to relax and simply be content in the company of his own thoughts. He closed his eyes, passing the minutes just listening to the crackling fire and sensing the rhythmic beat of her heart. It was a peaceful moment.

Unfortunately, it couldn’t last long enough.

Only about five minutes had passed before the vampire’s eyes opened again. In the distance, he could hear the frantic shouting of voices. The Saints must have realized the Crest heiress was gone. Muscles tense with apprehension, he turned toward the door as if he expected it to burst open at any second. It was only a matter of time before the hunters found them here. The glowing candlelight in the window and the rolling smoke from the chimney would surely give them away if it hadn’t already. He muttered a curse under his breath.

In the next instant, his attention snapped back to Victoria, who had noticed the sound as well and woken up. She pleaded with him with a desperation that caught him off guard, although he supposed he couldn’t expect anything less. The members of the Order had willingly let Spencer drain her almost to death in his voracious thirst for her blood. Of course she wouldn’t want to go back to them. He parted his lips to assure her that he wouldn’t let them take her, but before he could speak a word, she stopped him with the burning fury in her normally bright blue eyes.

When she explained that Gerald was the one who had killed her father, Vail blinked in surprise. He had been sure that the Wynter was the one who had murdered the former head of the Crests. However, there wasn’t time to question any of her claims now. The longer they stayed put in the lodge, the more time the hunters had to catch up with them. If they were going to escape, they had to leave right away.

“We’re going,” he announced in a low voice, rising from the chaise lounge with purposeful haste and scooping her into his arms. Even if she had recovered enough to walk, he was certain she couldn’t outpace their pursuers in her condition, so he didn’t bother asking permission to carry her. Shifting his hold to make sure he wouldn’t drop her, he edged to the door and cracked it open. Already, his nocturnal eyes could pick out the silhouettes of Saints in the trees. He would certainly be spotted if he ran out from the house now, but he didn’t have a choice.

Gritting his teeth, the vampire didn’t waste another second as he threw the door open and hurried around the side of the lodge with Lady Victoria in his arms.

Lady Crest acknowledged the vampire’s order they were to leave and had no time to even concur as Vail swept her up from the seat no sooner than he had stood from it. She wrapped her weak arms around his neck to help stay stable as he manoeuvred about the lodge. She stayed deathly silent to allow him the concentration he needed. She was very touched at how protective he had become of her despite only knowing her less than a month or so.

Gerald led the charge straight to the summer house. “I see lights!” He pointed over yonder to the others. “She must be in there!” Although it wasn’t too far away and Gerald breathed a sigh of relief at her possible location. He was still anxious what he would find when he got there. Would Victoria be angry or upset? But his anxiety turned to one of fear as soon as the door to the lodge flung open to reveal her vampire lover was holding her in his arms.

A gasp escaped his mouth as only one thing came to his mind. “He’s taken her! Stop him!” He grabbed his pistol from its holster as Vail whisked the Lady around to the side of the summer house. Victoria shivered immediately in the cold night autumn air. She clung to the vampire closely and overheard Gerald shouting that Vail had taken her, which was so far from the truth as one could get. He was protecting her from him as she had requested. Yet his two subordinates immediately gave chase to the couple as they had no reason to doubt their leader.

Ray, however, knew this wasn’t the case. He approached Gerald’s side quickly before he could break away from him. “Perhaps there is a simple explanation for all this?” He didn’t wish to exactly divulge that he knew of the Lady’s affair with Lord Hygrace but he didn’t want Gerald jumping to the wrong conclusion.

“What in the God’s name do you mean, Pierce?” Gerald grit his teeth and shook Ray’s hand from his shoulder and broke into a run. “AFTER HIM!” He barked his orders as Ray watched him run off with a sigh. He then ran after him a few seconds later. Lady Diana fretted as she was helpless to save her daughter. She wasn’t sure what was going on but her daughter had claimed to be in love with the vampire, and if that was indeed the case, it was her choice and Diana would have to accept that.

Victoria only wished how they could see how Vail treated her with tenderness and care he had displayed, not only on this night but on their previous encounter. How he held her, stroked her, made her feel so content just to be within the arms of another. It didn’t matter if he were a vampire or human, he was a man who treated her right. And that’s all she’s ever wanted. He was the complete opposite of Spencer, another vampire who did display monstrous behaviour. Vail had never conducted such violence against Victoria.

Expecting to be pursued, Vail didn’t flinch when Gerald called out the order to stop him. He skirted past the edge of the house with Victoria cradled securely in his arms, moving with haste to get out of the open so the Saints wouldn’t have a clear shot at him if they decided to shoot. His lead wouldn’t last for long though. As soon as the hunters rounded the building, they would be able to start firing their weapons at him. He just hoped they would be cautious enough not to injure the Crest heiress that they would be hesitant to pull the triggers on their guns. He would soon find out just how corrupt the Order had become if someone chose to attack him in spite of the consequences.

Knowing the Saints weren’t far behind, Vail kept his eyes in front of him without looking back. For any human man, the effort of whisking a woman away from a group of seasoned killers would have been nearly impossible. It was not so for his kind, but it was still challenging. He focused carefully to stay balanced while he ran, leery of any misstep that might cause him to fumble and fall. Getting away from the Order mandated perfection, so he couldn’t afford to slow down or relax until their pursuers were well behind them.

As he sprinted between the trees, his mind raced to come up with a place where they could seek safety. There were plenty of taverns and other buildings open, but all public spaces would be monitored by hunters at this hour. If he came bursting in with a half-dead woman in his arms, they would undoubtedly kill him on sight. He considered the brothels, where he and Victoria could hide in solitude, but they too would be under watch. His only hope was that he could outrun the members of the Order long enough to slip into an inn without being seen or… there was also his own family’s manor.

If he brought her back to the Hygrace clan’s property, they would be safe, but there was also no way for him to conceal her from the rest of his family. His father would pick out her unfamiliar scent right away and hound him to find out what was going on. There was no guarantee that the leader of the dynasty would sympathize with them either. If he thought it was too dangerous to harbor the Crest heiress, Vail could do nothing to go against his wishes. In that case, she would be sent away. The only question was whether he would follow.

Risking a peek over his shoulder, he could see that the Saints were still stubbornly giving chase though it didn’t look like they had gained any ground. His superior genetics allowed him to outpace them even with the full weight of a human pressed against his chest. The only thing he couldn’t outrun however, was a bullet, and he was uncomfortably aware of what an obvious target he was to the men who were after him now and any others who might catch sight of him and join the hunt.

He clicked his tongue, disliking the encroaching walls that threatened to corner him. He could finalize his plan along the way. For now, the most important step was getting to the gate, so he could flee the Crest estate and try to lose them in the city.

As a gun was fired at them, Victoria yelped in terror. She feared for Vail’s life. If a bullet were to hit him, he would suffer. If a bullet were to hit him in his heart, however, he would die. If he were to be injured, he risked her life too by dropping her onto the floor and landing on top of her. Not to mention letting The Order take her back into their clutches, which would only happen over his dead body.

“Don’t shoot you fools! You might hit her! If Spencer finds her damaged, he’ll have our heads!” Gerald scrambled after his subordinates and yelled at them with annoyance. As he caught up to one, he smacked the gun away, having come to a stop to take aim at Vail once more. “Stop! Use your brains! Tail him, we corner him. He’s got nowhere to run with her. He won’t find sanctuary anywhere in this city! He’ll run out of options soon enough. Then we flush him out like the rat he is...” The Saint nodded at his superior then took off after the vampire once more toward the gate.

Gerald looked to his side as Ray came to a running holt to catch up. “Gerald, isn’t this going a bit too far? She’s already been compromised, we need to do damage control before Spencer comes back! Are you going to let him simply walk all over you, man!” Ray nearly spat in the man’s face as he grabbed at his shoulder. Gerald shrugged him off. “Of course not! But what else can I do to keep this city from being ransacked by those locust Wynters?”

Victoria clung on best she could to Vail’s neck, but her shaking was growing worse. Her lips quivered together. She desperately needed warmth. But the city would be crawling with Saints. “Leave…me…save…yourself….” She was only slowing him down and she would be his demise. He couldn’t take her back to his family’s mansion obviously, no inn or tavern would be safe. She wasn’t going to take him down with her. There wasn’t much he could do to outrun them for long. She would soon turn hypothermic, her priorities had to change.

She knew that Gerald knew she had discovered his secret. She only need rat him out to the other Saints, make them lose trust in him. This was her only way she could win against him. She would lay her reputation on the line. Call upon all the allies she could within The Order through Ray. Even join them if necessary and pretend to do away with her vampire lover or feign love for him – that she was taken under his ‘spell’, all the while continue their passionate affair behind closed doors. She found it crazy how easily she could seduce the otherwise cool headed Vail Hygrace.

Gunshots rang in the dark, only adding celerity to Vail’s feet. He couldn’t risk glancing over his shoulder out of concern that he might lose speed or even trip if he didn’t stay focused on escaping. He had run from Saints plenty of times in the past, especially before the late head of the Crest household had made his deal with his clan, but the task was made difficult when he had to make sure Victoria made it out safely as well. She wasn’t too heavy for him to carry, but it was harder to stay balanced with her added weight making him top-heavy.

The one benefit of carrying her was that it seemed to have discouraged the hunters from firing anymore shots at him. He could see the gate up ahead when he heard her weak voice pleading with him to leave her behind. He didn’t bother sparing his breath to reply. After he’d found out what Spencer had been doing while he was away, the Order would have to kill him before he would hand her over to them again. He wasn’t sure where they could go—his family’s manor was a last resort—but he was determined to figure it out along the way to make sure the Wynter couldn’t hurt her anymore, even if it meant taking a bullet or two to succeed.

Escaping into the darkened city, he kept as close of a watch as he could on the surrounding shadows. It was late, but not so late that there wouldn’t be other Saints around who could see him running off with the heiress of the Crest estate. It would have been easier to slip into an alleyway and set her down so they could walk without drawing attention to themselves, but he could tell by her uncontrollable shivering that she was in no condition to carry herself the rest of the distance to whatever safe haven they could find.

Considering the options, Vail hissed a curse under his breath as it became clear that no public space would be able to give them the protection they needed. The taverns and brothels and underground markets were always crawling with hunters, and it would not take much effort for the Order to track them down at an inn. Even if they found one that would take them in, they would be trapped until Victoria had recovered enough to keep moving somewhere less temporary. There was no telling how long that would take, so as much as he disliked the idea, it seemed he was going to have to throw caution to the wind and bring her back to the only building that could offer them more than a semblance of shelter: The Hygrace manor.

Nearby, the vampire heard a man shout something he wasn’t paying close enough attention to catch. The Saints who hadn’t already been stationed in her family’s home were starting to catch on that something was amiss that night. Luckily though, the Hygrace estate wasn’t too far away from the Crest’s. He finally allowed himself to slow his pace when he reached the gate, jaw slack with quick breaths as he recovered from the effort of toting a full grown woman over a distance at nothing less than a sprint.

As he slipped through the barrier onto private property, he looked over his shoulder to see that his idea seemed to be working. The hunters who had pursued him this far wavered in the street on the other side. Their frustration was evident on their faces, as they couldn’t even lift their weapons to shoot at him without risking Victoria’s safety. He tilted his chin up at them in silent triumph and turned to bring her inside before she should freeze to death in the cold.

Victoria knew her plea went ignored. Vail was showing his stubborn pride or perhaps his possessiveness over the human whose blood he had gained an addiction to. She just hoped he knew what he was doing. She was weighing him down. She fought the cold as much as she could, clinging onto what warmth Vail’s body offered her. She admired his tenacity not to give her up. He thought she was worth risking his life for. She wondered why he was so taken with the Lady if not just for her blood. After all, he said it before - she was nothing but trouble.

She noticed the gun shots had died down as did the shouts from the Saints. Had Vail lost them? She wasn’t fully aware of her surroundings, feeling dizzied from being whisked around the streets in the cold night air. She hoped the Saints gave up in their chase. Were they really that afraid of what Spencer would do? He made a mistake in underestimating her own tenacity and determination to escape. He also underestimated the bond Vail and Victoria now formed. They had shared a night of passion together, they had joined as one. That was a powerful bonding ritual between humans and vampires alike.

She was slightly aware of their general location as she spotted various landmarks along the way. She noticed he took a turn in the direction of his on estate. Could he be insane enough to hide her there? It wouldn’t escape his family’s notice. They wouldn’t be best pleased either. As far as she understood it, they kept to themselves and thus stayed alive for that long because of it. Her presence would surely upset this balance. It would also put them into direct firing line of the Wynter Clan’s wrath, all because of Lady Crest’s blood they wanted for themselves. And any subsequent children she bore, would also have her strong-tasting blood for them to enjoy for generations.

She practically gasped as he took her inside the manor. She had never seen the interior of such a mysterious legend. The décor inside was so luxurious, far more than the Crest manor was. Crest manor was filled with ivory and gold, in contrast to the vast array of colours. It was obvious they spent a lot of money and a lot of time collecting luxury art, furniture and rugs. She was truly impressed by the wealth but that isn’t why she fell for Vail Hygrace. He could be a penniless vampire for all she cared, all that mattered was he cared enough about her to stop her awful fate by Lord Spencer.

The Saints sopped just short of the gate outside. Gerald cursed. “Dammit! He took her inside the Hygrace Clan. If we step foot in there, we risk an all-out war.” He paced up and down. Ray shook his head. “Spencer will find out sooner or later, Gerald. Please, I beg you! If we don’t side with the Hygraces, the Wynters will wipe us all out. Spencer won’t forgive us letting them get Lady Crest. As far as they are concerned, she’s their property.”