Chapter Three
https://youtu.be/o6b9JpBFjd4
Something about the words "family dinner" didn't sound as normal as it seemed. For one, the only vampires who looked as though they were actually related were Levi and Miles, so I couldn't see a family resemblance. Also, the members of this family seemed to be on a strict blood diet. Being that I was the only food in the vicinity, something told me being a part of a dinner would be unfortunate for me.
"I'm in," Miles immediately responded to the challenge, training his eyes on me as though he was preparing for a race and I was the finish line. I clasped my hands together, feeling nervous quite suddenly, but for the wrong reason. I remembered Jax's mouth over my shoulder and a hint of anticipation was ringing through my veins.
"If it's a matter of survival, there has to be rules. She won't survive her throat being ripped out," Levi added simply, still relaxed and seated on the bench. I immediately reached for my throat by instinct, causing a responding smile to cross his face.
"Fangs only," Oliver promptly demanded.
"Can we do the ripping if it's with fangs, then?" Miles suggested most unhelpfully.
"No ripping, tearing, or mauling. Only bite and feed," Oliver said, his voice low and dangerous.
"Boring," Miles responded with a sigh, "But fine."
"Jax shouldn't be included, he already fed from her," Oliver turned on Theo, who looked completely uninterested in anything as long as it meant not dealing with me in the future.
"Jax feeds," Theo answered simply, his tone indicating no breathing room would be allowed. I peered at Jax hesitantly. Though he wasn't adding any input, he didn't appear to disagree with the idea of feeding off of me again. "If that's all, let's get this over with."
Theo was instantly in front of me within a breath and didn't hesitate to snatch my upper arms in his grip. My previous instinct had been right. His skin was ice cold, solid like marble, and his grasp didn't invoke the luminance Oliver's and Jax's touch had across my flesh. I looked into his face with clear fear, losing my breath at the cold, void expression that greeted me.
I was suddenly shoved back, causing me to stumble over myself and fall onto the floor. I yelped at the slap of stone against my body, but before I could recover, my wrist was grasped in the same glacial grip. Theo began to pull me along the cold floor mercilessly. Something about the situation brought an instant realization to my mind. I was about to be dragged into a feast, where I would be the main course, and Theo would be sure to make my death final.
I inhaled sharply and screamed, kicking against the floor as if I could gain my balance and escape. I reached for his firm grip on my wrist, trying to pry his fingers from me, and then screamed in terror again. This second scream reverberated around the hall I was being pulled down, scratching at the walls. As we passed by frames and lamps that lined the walls, my screams bit into the material until glass was shattering alongside me.
Theo looked back at me momentarily, rolling his eyes, "Amateur casting won't scare me, little girl." He suddenly pulled me forward, tossing me through the threshold of a large room before letting me go mid throw. I lost my breath as I tumbled across the floor, slamming into the leg of a table placed in the center of the room. For a moment, I was stunned silent.
"I thought we said only fangs," Oliver's voice thundered from the doorway.
"She busted the frame to the Mona Lisa," Theo responded apathetically.
"Poor thing," Levi or Miles' voice was close and when I opened my eyes, he was leaning in front of me, his head tilted. "You'll have to excuse Theo. He has no manners at all. I, on the other hand, know how to treat a woman. Remember that, if you're alive to pick your first Master later." He winked suggestively. Definitely Levi.
Theo stalked towards me, drawing my eyes away from Levi to watch his approach with fear. I whimpered before he even grabbed my arm, wincing in pain when he roughly pulled me to my feet. And then I was suddenly in the air momentarily before landing harshly against the surface of the large rounded table. I lost my breath for a moment, but the second I was able to inhale, I moved to scramble away from the table.
Theo was suddenly straddling me, pinning me on my back atop the table. Before I could scream, his hand was over my mouth. "Typically," He said, his voice low and bored, "We would bind you to prevent you from moving. But you're a witch, so that won't work, will it?" He leaned forward, fear rendering me frozen.
"Not to worry, we have just the thing for the witches we bring here," His words were demented, meaning to incite a helpless anguish with the insinuation that my fellow kind had been lost on this very table before. He pinned my left hand against the table between the claws of metal shackles installed purposely to keep me trapped. When the claws clamped shut, I felt a strange sensation. He did the same to my right hand before leaning back onto his knees with satisfaction.
"There. Scream all you'd like," Theo stated simply. When I looked at the bindings holding me to the table, I noticed the engravings around the metal. They were more than shackles meant to hold me still. They were cursed. My mind whispered facts to me at the sight. I wouldn't be able to cast most magic with these.
"Shall we say grace first?" A voice I could now recognize to be Miles said from beside me. Levi laughed from the other side of the table.
"In the name of Genesis," Levi replied sarcastically. The phrase struck me almost viciously. I gasped, pulling my head back as the sound of screams reverberated through my skull. I could smell fire, taste fear, and feel wet blood pouring over my skin. The table rocked under me violently. And just as quickly, I was back in my own confused mind, panting from below Theo who had leaned forward to plant his hands against the table with surprise painting his features.
"Amateur, huh?" Oliver snickered with complete satisfaction.
"Dangerous," A stranger's voice boomed from the threshold of the doorway. Theo looked over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes before moving to the side of the table. My heart was still thudding in a panicked rhythm within my chest, but I summoned the courage to look towards the stranger.
He looked at each vampire within the room with utter disapproval, his eyes a charcoal color that matched the others. His hair was shades lighter than black, more a hazelnut brown. Something about his appearance said he was a leader and stronger than the others. After he targeted each vampire individually with his disapproving stare, his gaze fell on me with suspicion.
"I see you decided to start a dinner without me," He said with a frown. "That's a new low, don't you think?"
"We were sorting out an issue," Jax responded before the others. "We didn't want to bother you with it just yet." The man looked unimpressed by their antics.
"I see, and what exactly was this issue?"
"Oliver and Jax brought food home and didn't want to share," Miles confessed quickly, inciting a glare from Oliver. Everyone else remained eerily silent, as if afraid of upsetting this dominating man.
"And did this food attack you two?" The man turned his stony stare on Oliver and Jax, who seemed to have lost a few inches in their height almost instantly. When they didn't answer, the man sighed with irritation, "Did this food tell you at least which coven you were planning on pissing off by killing her?"
"Theo asked her, but she won't answer," Oliver finally responded with a hushed tone. This response caused the man's attention to turn on Theo, who was leaning against the wall without interest. For a moment, he didn't even look towards the man, but after a bit of tense silence, Theo finally turned to face that dark stare with his own.
"I have nothing to say," Theo growled threateningly, "Look elsewhere."
The man made a noise of irritation and began advancing towards the table purposely. Miles and Oliver immediately moved aside to leave a clear path to me. Once he reached the table, he planted his hands on either side of my bound hand, hesitating momentarily while catching my gaze in deep thought.
"If I release the shackles, will you promise not to exact retribution for your situation?" His question made me hesitant. His hands were so close to mine. I could feel that intoxicating allure that shrouded him just by being near. I doubted I could do anything to gain any type of revenge against them, but I nodded anyway. When he removed the condemning claws of the cursed shackles, I felt as though a weight had been lifted from within me.
I immediately pushed myself up into sitting position, stumbling from the table and moving to the far wall away from the group of vampires who were all watching me carefully. The man who released me stepped in front of them, but didn't proceed to invade my space further.
"My name is Sebastian," He introduced himself politely, "What's your name?"
I struggled to recall something in the muddled mess of my mind that could represent a name, but nothing came.
"Special needs," Theo said in low sing-song voice from behind the group.
"It's understandable not to want to answer that," Sebastian interrupted easily, not appearing to grow irritated just yet. "Just let us know what coven you represent and we'll gladly send you back along with an apology if it's necessary. We recently settled a long standing feud; I'd like to avoid another for at least another century..."
I hesitated, glancing away as I tried to recall information of a coven I might be in. Perhaps a face? Or a name of a family member? I felt an abrupt presence near me and glanced back up to gasp at Sebastian's sudden proximity.
"This does not have to be an issue if you'd just cooperate," He stated, his tone darkening to that of growing impatience. I was caught in his heated gaze for only a moment longer before tears started to blur my vision. Sebastian frowned, "Don't be afraid. I don't intend to harm you." He immediately reached to brush away a tear that had escaped onto my cheek.
His finger froze when connecting to my cheek. The touch sparked the warmth of the sun throughout me, dimming the aches and pain that had begun to become the only thing I was able to focus on. I momentarily closed my eyes, relaxing under his spell. It had to be a spell or a bewitchment of some kind. I was helplessly in content bliss.
Sebastian stepped away from me, drawing away his touch with him. I opened my eyes slowly, feeling the heat begin to vanish with him. I hesitated, but if it meant a chance to have all my pain dissolve under his grasp, I'd cooperate to the best of my ability.
"I can't remember anything before tonight," I admitted quietly, the sorrow and confusion seeping into my voice. "I can recall... things... random facts, but... I feel like I'm recalling words in a book; memories that belong to someone else. I don't understand why I'm here. I don't know who I am..." I lost my train of thought when he stepped towards me once again.
I almost sighed before he even brushed his fingers over my face carefully. It was only a small stroke, as if he was afraid anything more would harm me, but it sent my limbs reeling into that content state of warm pleasure before fading with the words that had illuminated under his touch.
"It's the language of Genesis," Sebastian stated almost angrily. The name kindled something ancient within me. It sounded like the name of home. He turned sharply to the vampires behind him. "How did you not notice the language of your own coven, Oliver? Jax?"
Oliver seemed stunned momentarily before scoffing loudly. "Like I fondly read bedtime stories in ancient Genesis every morning for the past 200 years? Do I look like some crazed scholar to you? Besides, what is an ancient magical language going to do for me? I'm a vampire, remember?"
"Why are the words of the Genesis coven appearing on her skin?" Jax decidedly ignored the question directed towards him.
"I haven't seen anything special on her skin," Theo said with obvious boredom. "Genesis is gone. Everything linked to them has gone with them. Are you saying there's one left?" Sebastian looked from Theo to me carefully. I didn't move in hope that he would brush his skin over mine once more, but he only inspected me suspiciously.
"Well, what the fuck are you waiting for? Kill her," Miles suddenly demanded, his attitude shifting completely from playful to downright intense. All the vampires in the room moved at the words, reacting either in agreement or reluctance behind Sebastian. I wanted to be afraid of the tension that had risen within the room, but the only thought that crossed my mind was that Sebastian would have to touch me to kill me. A sense of anticipation echoed within me.
"She could be useful," Sebastian suddenly announced carefully. Before anyone could disagree, he said, "I don't think she's a surviving Genesis witch. Not in the way you're thinking. She's more likely the result of a spell... of the last incantation."
"So you're saying the Genesis coven created her?" Miles answered, frustration crossing his features, "Then it's safe to say she was meant to kill us. Finish her off and we'll finally be done with them all." Sebastian thought about it for a moment and then reached forward, cupping my face in his hands. I placed my hands over his, positively humming with ecstasy. So lost was I in this intoxicating warmth that I didn't realize he intended to snap my neck and end my life once and for all.
"The last incantation isn't made for revenge," Sebastian mused quietly, brushing his fingers over my skin as if petting me. "It's their last efforts to preserve their magic, history, and bloodline. As you can see, it's a faulty enchantment. In order to ensure survival, the magic is drawn to those of the Genesis bloodline, should there be any left."
"She doesn't distinguish vampire from witch," Levi suddenly said, his laughter suddenly echoing around the room. "Their last effort to survive is drawn to the ones who want to end them the most. All because it can sense we're from the Genesis coven. Idiots."
"If she's drawn to us, she won't harm us," Jax stated slowly, "Seb, if what you're saying is true, we have the remaining power of the entire Genesis bloodline in the palm of our hands." Sebastian released his grip on me, causing me to nearly stumble after him, but I resisted. Instead, I touched my cheek where the warm glow was already beginning to fade without him.
"So be it. We'll keep her for now." Sebastian said, causing Theo to scoff.
"I thought we all had to be in agreement for that?" Theo responded simply.
"We're keeping her. And you'll be the one taking care of her," Sebastian answered him sharply. Immediately, the other vampires made noises of disagreement.
"Why does he get her first?" Oliver asked, exasperated. "He doesn't even want her." Theo's aura had grown darker within the second, but he didn't add any input. He only locked in a death stare match with Sebastian who didn't appear to be letting up.
"He's the only one not from the Genesis coven," Sebastian stated simply, "He's the only one who can touch her without suffering the consequences and he's the only one who doesn't see the writings."
"What consequences?" Levi asked curiously.
"Attachment," Sebastian answered, glancing at me, "Cravings. I'm assuming she was meant to mate with us, in an attempt to restart the Genesis coven. Her touch is bewitching and because of that, none of you are allowed to touch her from this point forward. Only Theo." He suddenly turned to me completely, lowering his face to level with mine.
"If you try anything, it will be the last thing you do. Do you understand?" I didn't, honestly. With him so close, I felt like a moth drawn to a flame. I nodded my head vaguely, shifting towards him slightly. For a moment, he didn't move away, so that we were only inches from touching once again.
"Consequences," Levi mused with intrigue, "I see, now." As if startled from hypnosis, Sebastian flinched and stepped away.
"Take her, Theo. And give her a name while you're at it." Sebastian demanded sharply, turning to the others. Miles and Levi were leaning against each other, throwing looks occasionally. They had been the only ones not to lay a finger on me so far. Oliver appeared disappointed, though he didn't directly look at anyone. Jax looked like stone, unmoving and expressionless. Theo appeared reluctant to proceed with his assignment of taking care of the 'dull human'. Sebastian stared at each of them, his features dominating and fearsome. "As for the rest of you... no touching."
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Music: Powerful by Major Lazer (Feat Ellie Goulding and Tarrus Riley)
Added a pic of Miles and Levi up there if you're curious.
Thanks for reading. ^^
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