Chapter 5 Cedar
Cedar
Istood next to Vesper, the need to reach out and touch her too much to handle.
I had been waiting, every single night plagued by dreams of the day when she was taken from us. All I could remember was the way she looked at us for help… but we couldn’t.
It took far too long to get to her, and now that she was finally here, instead of wrapping my arms around her, I was forced to watch as two spoiled vampires had the blandest conversation I’d ever seen in my life.
Atlas and Charlotte were at a large dining table, but instead of sitting at both ends, they chose to sit on either side of the middle, a more intimate position, since they were forced to stare at each other.
They had called this “dinner,” but for these vampires, that consisted of various cups of blood, ruby-red blood candies, and human blood bags offering a bit of their wrist to them every few minutes.
The dining room itself was dark with chandeliers hanging above. All the lights had been dimmed for a more romantic vibe, I guessed. Windows spanned behind Atlas, all of them covered with vines, dark enough to block out the setting sun.
It was quiet. No conversation except for theirs.
We were cast off to the side, our backs against the wall as we watched, neither of them really paying attention to us.
“Is the council still restricting your clan intake?” Charlotte asked, turning to the human waiting at her side. She grabbed his wrist, already open and bleeding, and she placed her lips on it to suck a few mouthfuls.
Vesper shifted at my side, her arm just barely brushing across mine. It caused a jolt to go through my heart, something that didn't go unnoticed by the vampires. Atlas gave me a look as if asking me to control my reactions.
I tried not to look at Vesper. At least not until I was able to get us out of this room. I was barely holding on, and I feared that if I gave her even a single glance, I would lose my composure.
But that didn't stop me from leaning into her.
“They will probably do that until the day I die,” she muttered and lifted her cup for the human on her side to pour her blood in. “The curse of attracting Kyan’s attention.”
Charlotte dabbed at her mouth with a napkin in a mock show of table manners.
Vesper's hand reached out just slightly, the tips of her fingers brushing against the back of my hand. Electricity jolted through me again.
“Addressing the council head so casually? Aren’t you afraid of how she may react when it gets back to her?”
Atlas scoffed. “She can’t kill me. That’s why she’s punishing me like this.”
Charlotte hummed, though Atlas’s importance in the vampire community didn’t seem to be as much of a shock to her as it had been to me.
Fuck her.
Atlas was the one who got us into the room we were in now. The only chance we had to take Vesper back. But she was also the reason she was here in the first place. Atlas was apparently from some special background, and even the council wouldn’t kill her, but she couldn't stand up for Vesper?
I grew a little bit bolder. My hand reached out to Vesper’s, but I was much too fast. She stiffened and jerked away, almost as if on reflex, and I finally took the moment to look at her, unable to stop myself anymore.
The vampire conversation drifted to the background as I got a good look at her for the first time in weeks.
She had changed since she was last dragged from the sanctuary of Atlas’s home. She had grown taller, her hair was whiter, her scars were still embedded in her skin, but they looked deeper, more prominent.
And, of course, the biggest change, the eyes that were slowly reddening the longer we stared at each other. The tension between us was undeniable. The electricity from where our skin touched still singed.
I couldn't handle it anymore.
I looked around, noticing an exit not far behind us. I took one look at Atlas, but her eyes were already on me as she gave me a subtle nod.
Finally. I wasn't going to take this opening for granted.
Charlotte twisted her head, like she was listening in, but did nothing to stop me as I grabbed Vesper’s wrist and pulled her along with me out the door.
As soon as we were out, I looked for a quick place to hide. The hallway itself had even more windows alongside it, causing me to feel exposed. The sun was setting and the hallway was darkening, but I needed to get us out of sight. Even just for a moment.
“Cedar, I can’t be running—”
Found it.
Almost unnoticeable, but there was a small alcove covered by a tapestry. We would barely fit, but it would give us the illusion of privacy, and that was enough for me.
I pushed us into it, forcing Vesper against the wall. Her eyes glowed in the darkness. I inhaled deeply, taking in her scent, and even that had changed slightly. But I could tell this was still her. Beyond any doubt, the person in front of me was the Vesper I fell in love with.
“Cedar, I’m not… This is…”
She was afraid. Her eyes darted around, unable to keep them on me for long. The once powerful and feared hunter was now averting her gaze and looking like she wanted to run away from me.
“What are you so afraid of?” I asked, my hand running down her face. At first, she was unmoving, but slowly she leaned into it. “I’m here to take you back.”
Her pained expression had my heart breaking.
“I’m not… I’m not me anymore, Cedar.” Her voice caught. “Before they gave me to the family, I was in a dungeon. They… They only fed me blood. It… changed me.”
It hit me then that she was afraid I wouldn’t want the new her.
Wouldn’t accept her. I looked at her then in a new light.
The feared hunter who had once taken down vampire after vampire becoming one herself, and not by choice.
It was forced upon her, and now she was scared that I, out of all people, would push her away for it.
How dare they? How dare they lock her up? How dare they treat her like nothing more than an afterthought?
She deserved better than this. The world had already proven to be cruel with her upbringing and the prophecy forced upon her. How could it continue to do this? How can I even begin to help her? What could I possibly do?
I felt useless. I wanted to help my lover, but there was nothing I felt like I could do that would be enough to make up for the level of depravity of what had happened to her.
I wanted to curse the gods. Demand that they give me an answer. But I knew it would get me nowhere. The real enemies were the ones in the council.
Pushing down the anger, I did the only thing I could think of. I lunged forward, gripping her shoulders, and forced her lips to mine.
She let out a pained groan, her hands coming to my hips, pulling me to her. I tried to tangle my hand in her hair, but she was stronger, faster. She turned us, pushing me against the wall, her mouth opening to push her tongue inside mine.
I let out a noise of protest that quickly dissolved into a moan as she kissed me. I wanted to talk to her. It was supposed to just be a kiss to show her how much I wanted her. How nothing had changed for me. I never meant for it to go this far, but I couldn't fight what was happening between us.
If we couldn't say it in words, then we sure as hell would be able to say it with our bodies.
It was hard, rushed, all the time we spent away building up to this moment. But it felt like coming home.
The part of me that was missing was right in front of me. Kissing me. We were melding together, forcing our bodies against one another, but in the back of my mind, no matter how relieved I was… there was still something missing.
Someone.
Our perfect princess.
She moved down, her lips trailing down my face and neck, and I leaned my head to the side. When I felt the brush of sharp fangs, I realized what was happening.
“Wait! Vesper, we need to—”
Her hand covered my mouth, and in a flash, her teeth were buried in my neck.
My magic flared, reacting to the threat. Red magical vines swarmed around us, circling Vesper, but instead of fighting her, they pulled her closer.
My magic accepts her. Even when she’s burying her fangs in my neck.
I let my body sink into her.
My mouth opened in a silent scream, but all too quickly I started to feel the heat of her venom work its way through my system. It was different from Aurelia’s. Back then, when she pumped me full of her venom, I turned into a horny mess, but this…
There was something stronger about Vesper’s venom. Something that made the burn so intense that my stomach began cramping almost immediately.
“Oh god.” My groan was muffled by her hand.
She pulled away, blood dripping down her mouth and onto our clothes. She’d never looked more dangerous than in that moment. Her eyes red, a hunger in them that sent a jolt of electricity straight through my entire body. She was ravenous for me, and it made me fall apart.
Just like that, an orgasm was building up in me. I couldn’t stop it. And all it took was just the tiniest bit of her venom.
“You taste good, my witch.” Her voice was deep, sultry. Not at all like the human Vesper I once knew.
“You sure have changed,” I whispered as she pulled her hand away. I wanted her. My body was desperate for her. My cunt was already aching. Wetness pooled in my underwear.
She leaned forward, her lips barely touching mine as her hand trailed down my front, dipping into my pants. I hissed as her fingers met my clit. I needed more. I needed her to fuck me hard, to pull the orgasm she was teasing me with out of me.
“You tempted the monster in me, and now I can't stop it,” she murmured. “I'm not the desperate little vampire hunter you once knew.”
I spread my legs and tilted my head to the side, baring my neck to her.
“And I want it all. Take what you need from me, Vesper. And after this, we go get our princess.”
She let out a growl. It went straight to my core.
In another second, her teeth were buried in the other side of my neck, and I let out a strangled moan. The venom was a shock to my system and had my body writhing against her.
More. More. I wanted to say it out loud, but my body wasn’t cooperating.
She slipped her fingers inside me, and for the first time, I felt totally conquered.
There was nothing I could do to shake her off.
She was pushing me against the wall, her hand gripping my arm so I'd stay in place, the other one between my legs, fingers pumping into my wet cunt without mercy.
I didn't realize how much she overpowered me now with her new height until her body was covering mine.
“Give it to me,” Vesper growled as she pulled away. “I need it.”
I couldn't stop my orgasm even if I tried. I plunged headfirst into it, my sight blackening at the edges at the intensity of it. Even though we had dipped into the alcove, there was no hiding the sounds coming from my mouth.
Whispered begging turned into loud whimpers.
She forced her teeth out of me, no easy feat given how red her eyes were. Her teeth were bared, my blood all over them and her mouth.
It was one of the hottest things I'd ever seen.
Vesper was breathing heavily, her eyes slowly starting to turn back to their normal golden hue as she took in the mess she turned me into. I was still riding the high, pleasure still coursing through my being. There was no room for me to feel any embarrassment.
At least not yet.
“We have to be careful,” she said as she moved away from me, but that wasn’t what made me panic. Her words did. “I’m not… myself anymore. I'm sorry I hurt you.”
She’s retreating.
My hand shot forward to stop her.
“I liked it. I liked it. Please…” I forced myself to take a breath. “We will work on it.” Her eyes widened, letting me know she expected me to push her away. I could see the guilt and shame written all over her face. “I’m not letting you go, Vesper. Never again.”
I pulled her closer, my hands running down her body, caressing her, but she stopped me by gripping my wrist.
“Let me show you,” I whispered.
Her eye flashed red again, but then it was gone.
“Not until our princess is back.”
My throat constricted, but I knew where she was coming from. The days I spent in Atlas’s castle, in the bed I had shared with them, were the loneliest I ever had. They were in my dreams, only for me to wake up every day disappointed to realize the bed was cold and I was alone.
Now that it was only Vesper and me, we still weren’t complete. But at least we had each other.
Vesper’s head snapped to the side, her jaw tensing. Just as I was about to ask what was happening, she moved the tapestry covering us and peeked out of the alcove.
“Do you have no decorum?” Atlas's voice came from down the hallway with a scoff.
“I think it's cute,” Charlotte said with a small giggle, her hand trying to hide her smile but obviously failing.
When I glanced at them, I saw them waiting in the middle of the hallway.
Charlotte gave me a wink. “A deal is a deal.
One dinner and you guys get Vesper. It sucks because I really liked having her around, but I know you're better off searching for that princess of yours.”
She said it with a pout, but as annoying as the vampire seemed, it sounded like she had a good heart.
As we walked out, the shame of it all finally heated my skin.
“Speaking of…” Charlotte's eyes flashed to Atlas and then to Vesper. “We got news.”
My heart stopped. Vesper took a step forward.
“She made her choice?” Vesper asked, hope and despair threaded in her tone.
Charlotte gave her a pitiful look.
“Yes,” Atlas growled. “And we have to hurry. We have an engagement dinner to catch.”