Willing (The Un #1)

16. Asher

Sixteen

Asher

My eyes temporarily go white when the door finally opens and I see Chloe. See her for what feels like the first time in centuries. I know she’s only been alive for twenty years, but I’ve waited nearly a millennium for her.

I’ve seen kingdoms rise and fall. I’ve felt the world shift more than once from revolution. I’ve witnessed things of wonder and true monstrosity. I’ve fought in countless wars.

All this time I’ve waited for her .

Every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year, every decade, every century…

Almost a thousand years of waiting, of filling the void of time, coalescing to this moment.

I’ve waited. I’ve been patient. I’ve raged.

I’ve felt every emotion under the dark starry skies.

Nine hundred and eighty-seven years ago, I died during a cold winter night. My throat was bitten, my body drained until I was gasping my last breath. I don’t know why my sire stopped there. I don’t know why he spilled his bloody essence back into me. He was gone before I awoke, disappearing that very night.

My sire died during the Crusades, towards the end of those wars of faith. I felt his loss though I never knew him. And I swore my children would never know that pain. Swore on my immortality I would do everything to provide them a life.

I also swore on my own blood I would give them a mother.

My knees want to collapse at the beauty of the woman before me. Her golden hair. Her full cheeks. Her lush lips. Her stormy gray eyes. Her beauty is all-encompassing.

But it doesn’t stem only from her looks.

No, it’s in the deep bond we share. The connection I feel between our souls that allows me to see inside her. See her purity of heart. The kindness in her nature. Her resilience and strength to survive.

All of it threatens to blind my mind.

Standing on the front stoop of the home, her tear-filled eyes stare at me, full of every emotion. They ask questions I don’t understand. The pain is so great that what’s left of my dying soul aches with anger.

Why the fates would leave this until now doesn’t make sense to me. A split soul shouldn’t have to suffer for this long, or in this way.

Tossing the meatbag that’s in my hand to whoever the fuck is beside me, I simply stare at her, as she does me.

“Gross, this one is not my dance partner,” Ambrose mutters as the body collides with him.

“I’ve missed you, Chloe. I’ve missed you through more lifetimes than I want to remember. I’ve missed you every moment,” I say.

“I…” Her eyes almost glazing over in a haze of lust and fear, of desire and pain, I can see the yearning to be embraced, to be taken into my arms.

Opening them slowly to her, I simply wait for her to come to me.

“Asher,” she whispers quietly as her feet move in slow, scuffing movements.

Chloe still fights what is natural. She fights it because of the indoctrination forced upon her.

An indoctrination I will break her of. I will rip every single fucking teaching of the Order out of her mind.

Taking the final step to her, I wrap my arms tight around her body. When I pull her to my chest, she rests her cheek against me.

I can smell her natural scent now and it’s beyond ambrosia to me.

Leaning down, I brush my lips against the top of her head.

I would kiss those delicate lips if I knew it wouldn’t lead to things we absolutely cannot do in public.

Lifting her into my arms, I sweep her legs up to hold her.

Thou shall covet.

I will covet her. I will secure her forever as mine.

For I am the fucking monster who will end the world to keep her safe.

Turning from the house I’ve come to hate, unnaturally so, I long to be away.

Nodding my head to the men surrounding me, I head directly to the SUV the wolf pack loaned us. Raphael, ever mindful of our needs during this hellacious time, ensured we had transportation.

Matthias opens the door for me. “Two more of the men have arrived. They’ll be following us to the safe house.”

“Good,” I say, and slide into the seat with Chloe in my arms.

I hear the hunter being crammed into the back, his arms and body bound tightly. His mouth is thankfully gagged again.

"Be silent, human. He promised he wouldn’t kill you, he said nothing about me, and I’ll risk his wrath,” Andrei whispers quietly so only so only the hunter can hear.

Or at least he tried to.

I feel Chloe tense at Andrei’s words, but I rub my chin on top of her head, shushing her complaint.

We’ve tried compelling this Isaac, but the blood he drank seems to have given him enough resistance to fight us. It’s a weak fight to be sure, but I’m thankful Andrei spoke with him.

Chloe must be able to hear as well as we can. Our bond already giving her almost every advantage we have as vampires.

Something like this is unheard of, at least to my knowledge. She should gain some of them the closer I am to her while she’s still human, but not like this.

She’s remarkable in every sense of the word.

Time slows and quickens as we drive through the city. Our bond seems to be at war one moment, then in sync the next. She wars with herself. She wars with what she believes and who she thought she was. I don’t know the full extent of the battle. I just know something has fundamentally changed since I was at her home last night.

My need to delve into her mind is strong, but I resist.

She’ll tell me when she’s ready to, I can feel that.

But I ache for the hurt she suffers.

I ache for all that she’s been forced to endure.

My righteous fury will show no mercy to those who have caused her pain.

If my suspicions are even remotely close to what truly happened, all the power the Order of Saint Benedict holds will not be able to protect them from my wrath.

Her blood is in his stomach .

There are only a few ways to get her blood.

I’m going to drain and fucking hang every Benedictine I find on my front fucking lawn.

We reach a long stretch of gravel road and the vehicle slows to a modest pace.

The stars are beautifully bright now that we’re away from the city lights.

The SUV pulls directly into a three-car garage, and Chloe and I are pulled from our shared torment and misery.

I know things will be better once we’ve truly bonded and she sheds her mortal coil with all its trappings. Yet I still worry for her. She is broken inside right now. Her world is ending, and it’s directly because of me.

Should I feel guilt over my beloved’s pain and suffering?

No.

I won’t.

I’ll simply destroy all of those that filled her with lies. I’ll leave their broken bodies on her throne so she can feast on their misery. Ending the torment they’ve caused for so many.

Matthias again gets the door for us, and I nod my head in thanks. “Do not disturb us. No one may come to our room unless it’s a true emergency.”

“Understood,” he says with his lips in a firm line.

“Make sure you have food available when I call for it,” I say before I head to the door leading into the house.

Turning to face my children, I smile. “Tonight, my sons, I bring home your mother and usher in a new future for our coven.”

Moving through the open door, I head directly to closest room available.

Right now, it could be a fucking cupboard for all I care.