Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Levette
Waking from sleep when the sun set was like awakening to a whole new life. I was eager to make my way back to Warren, to kiss him senseless and remind him that now he was mine. I didn’t dream when I slept, but my mind was always on Warren, his handsome face and radiant smile.
To know that he was mine was a gift that I did not deserve, but would always be grateful for.
However, loving a human also came with its own set of challenges. I would forever worry about his mortality, that one day he would grow old and eventually leave me. Though I did not begrudge him his mortal life, I loathed the idea of having to lose him.
Then there was the worry that as he aged, he would grow tired of me. Unwavering in who I was, never changing or aging, I would be stuck as I was; maybe he would decide that loving me for all his years was not what he had wanted after all.
The thoughts spiraling within my mind only angered me as I got dressed and made my way to Warren’s apartment.
I had only just gotten him, convinced him to be happy, and I would not let my fears taint what we had.
We would have to face enough criticism from other people; it was too much to add my own negativity to the mix.
As I got closer to Warren’s apartment, the scent of his blood filled my nose. At first, I assumed I was just more attuned now that we had shared blood, and my body craved it. But when I rounded onto his street, I knew the scent was too strong. His blood had been spilled.
I ran into his building and kicked the door open, growling when I saw his brother standing before me. The smell of blood, hate, and fear permeated the air, pulling the monster within me free. I look around frantically, hissing when I saw Warren’s body on the floor behind his brother.
“Terribly good of you to join us, demon. You are just in time to see me send your beloved down to Hell where he belongs. Would you like to join him?”
My lip pulled back as I snarled at him, baring my fangs. He seemed delighted at the sight, holding his Holy book up as he began to recite passages to me.
“Your words won’t work on me, boy. You are a fool without conviction, but if you want to see your maker, I’m happy to oblige!” I yelled, hitting him out of the way like a nuisance fly. Robert smacked against the wall, dropping to the floor into unconsciousness.
I ran to Warren, picking up his head and laying it in my lap. He was lifeless, his body bleeding out. His pale skin was marred with bruises and cuts, some dried and some fresh. That bastard must have been with him the entire day, beating and abusing him.
“Mon amour, please hang on,” I whispered, ripping my wrist open and pouring blood into his mouth. His heart was barely beating, but my blood would make him strong enough to hang on. It had to. I would not lose him. “Do not leave me, mon c?ur. I need you.”
Lifting him carefully, I placed Warren on the bed, resting his head against the pillow.
Once I had him situated, I turned my attention back on his brother, ready to rip him apart for laying a hand on Warren—again.
I had told Warren before that I would not seek revenge on his brother, but all bets were off now that it was a repeat offense.
Now that Warren was mine to protect.
I grabbed Robert by the throat, lifting him up and smacking his back against the wall.
The man stirred, slowly regaining consciousness, before his eyes widened in recognition.
He began to flap his arms, kicking at me like he was strong enough to actually harm me.
What a foolish notion, it was laughable.
“I command you to return to whence you came!” he forced out, holding up his hand like he had the light of the Almighty to cast me out.
My laughter was cold and mocking, making him wince. “I am no demon, you putain d'imbécile! And you, with all your ungodly ways and the innocent blood on your hands, cannot be the one to condemn me.”
“I have killed no innocents!” he proclaimed, still struggling against my grip. “There is no guilt to be felt for those I have rid from the world.”
My hand tightened around his throat. The stupidity of him astounded me, my anger only rising as I heard Warren’s heartbeat struggling to gain rhythm in the background.
I needed my blood to work quicker, to at least strengthen his heart enough to help him survive for me.
I could not go through life without him, not now that I knew what it meant to be loved by him.
“You may lie to yourself, but not to me. You see, I have killed innocents, and I know what it is like to have blood on my hands, but the difference between you and me is that I do not profess to be better than I am. Tell me, what crimes did you accuse your brother of?”
Robert sneered, spitting on me. His saliva hit my face, and I let my fingernails dig into the skin at his neck.
“My brother fraternizes with demons and degenerates. He commits crimes against his very nature.”
I looked behind me, barely able to see Warren’s chest move.
His pulse was weak, barely there even to my ears.
I turned my attention back to Robert and slammed him against the wall again, hearing a bone in his shoulder snap with the impact.
He let out a scream and it gave me a twisted satisfaction, fuel to continue so I could hear his screams until his voice gave out.
Letting him go, he fell to the ground, grabbing at his broken shoulder.
I smiled slowly, predatorily, as I lifted my foot to his leg and shattered his knee.
His screams echoed around the small apartment, and he tried to drag himself away from me, but I followed, laughing at the fear oozing from him.
“Your terror smells divine,” I taunted, sniffing the air. “I bet it will taste even sweeter in your blood.”
Robert gasped, trying to pull himself to the door.
Placing my foot on his back, I pinned him in place, grabbing him by the hair as I yanked his back up into an arch.
I pressed my nose against his throat, scenting the regret and fear, before I ripped into his throat, spitting out the chunk of skin on the floor beside him.
He howled, grabbing at his neck as blood spurted from it. I took one of his hands and twisted, snapping his wrist and pulling his arm from the socket at the same time. His blood was pouring out beneath him as he cried, begging for someone to save him.
“Even now, you do not turn to your God to save you. Do you see what a hypocrite you are?” I jeered, sticking my finger in his neck wound and licking the blood.
It tasted disgusting, like the death and disdain he projected seeped into his very being.
“You convince your brother that he is damned for being kind, for loving with compassion, and for what? So that you can escape whatever sins you know will be sending you to Hell? You are a pathetic excuse for a human.”
“Your eyes…You are…a devil!” Robert croaked, half screeching and half gasping. His already white skin was ghostly pale, the color having drained from him completely. He would not survive much longer.
I crouched beside him and put my mouth close to his ear so there was no doubt that he could hear me.
“I am not a demon nor a devil, but I am happy to send you to see some. And while you burn in the fiery pits of Hell for all the horrors you have committed, I will be ensuring that your brother lives a happy life, content and in my arms. And every time he doubts himself or thinks of you and your vileness, I will press my lips to his and make him forget all about it.”
Robert gagged, choking on his own blood. I roared with laughter at the idea of him being sick over Warren, leading a happy life, bringing me joy. I would make sure that Robert’s stain on the world did not taint Warren or his future.
“You should never have put a hand on what belonged to me. For harming my beloved, I will condemn you!” I bellowed, taking his head in my hands and twisting, snapping his neck and ending his pitiful life.
Having dealt with that problem, I rushed back over to Warren. He was lying incredibly still, his chest unmoving. Panic flooded my system as I listened for his heartbeat, weak as it was, but it was gone. He had no pulse, no lingering link to the living.
“Non, cela ne peut pas arriver!” I screamed, pulling Warren into my lap as I held his lifeless body. “Warren, please, mon cher, come back to me!”
I placed my hands over his chest, willing him to come back to me. My shaking, blood-soaked hands caressed his face, and I leaned down, pressing a tender kiss to his lips, begging him to return.
On my knees, with his corpse in my lap, I looked towards the sky and cried out to God, bartering for his soul.
“Please, God, bring him back to me. I will be whatever you need me to be. I will meet the sun if you request it. But do not let him die. He is good, so good; he is the sheep that you sent your shepherd to save. I do not know if I have a soul left, but if I do, take mine instead!”
I swept some of the matted hair from his face, dreaming of seeing his beautiful smile or his eyes light up with laughter.
I had only just found him, and I was not ready to lose him.
He deserved better than me, than a monster loving him, but I would give him all that was within me.
It would never be enough, but I would never stop trying.
Yet, he was not breathing—he had left me.
How was I supposed to move on in a world that reminded me of him?
Warren Hayes was the best of humanity, and without him, the world was meaningless.
A cesspit of venom and viciousness; I wanted no part in it.
All I wanted was him. My tears blinded me, black droplets falling on his handsome face.
Even in death, I was spoiling his beauty.
Staring down at him, a horrendous realization washed over me. I had given him my blood to heal. His heart had stopped beating with my blood in his system.
Confusion, regret, and hopefulness warred within me. Warren would awaken soon, immortality enveloping him. He would come back to me, and I would not have to face living in a world without him.
It was wrong to be hopeful, excited even, at the prospect of hearing his voice and feeling his lips on mine when I knew he would be coming back as a vampire, a creature he had not agreed to become. But I could not help it; happiness at the promise of more called to me.
Except the knowledge that he would not want that hung heavy on my heart.
He would be forever changed, waking as a vampire without having been given a choice.
I had done that to him, albeit unintentionally.
I had handed him over to the eternal damnation he was so terrified of.
He would never be a monster, but I knew that would be how he viewed himself.
“I am so sorry,” I whispered to him, my hands tracing his face. “I did not mean to do this to you, mon amour. I pray you can forgive me.”
I looked up again, roaring until my throat hurt. “Is this my punishment, God? You gave him to me, made him mine, just for him to end up hating me? Am I going to have to live without him anyway, as some cruel trick of fate for what I am, what I made him become? Answer me! Why, God? Why!”
When no answer came, I buried my face in the crook of his neck, our cheeks pressed together as I sobbed. I had been given everything I wanted, but at a cost. I was going to lose him. Warren would wake, his heart hardened by immortality, his love for me turning to hatred.
I would do anything for him. Anything he asked of me, I would do without hesitation.
Everything except leaving him, and I feared that was exactly what he would want.
How could he look at me with love in his eyes, knowing that I was the one who took away his chance at redemption? I would not forgive me, either.
I hated myself, and now he would hate me, too.
Hours passed by as I sat with Warren in my arms, fighting against my anger and fear. Robert’s body lay as a reminder of what had transpired, my fingers itching to set him alight and watch as he burned, a finality to ridding the world of his evil and avenging the one I loved most.
I could not let go of Warren, couldn’t bring myself to move him or do anything but caress him and whisper a multitude of confessions and promises until my voice was hoarse. Longing for him to wake, fearing for what happened after.
While I knew the steps involved in the transformation, I had never witnessed it in person.
It took me by surprise when Warren’s battered skin began to stitch up, his wounds closing over, and his bruises slowly disappearing before my eyes.
I held him closer then, worried that he would wake up and make a beeline for the door.
After his body healed, his skin regained its color, pale and perfectly smooth without blemish.
His hair was next, the red becoming radiant, like long strands of blazing fire.
He was becoming an immortal beauty, a creature of darkness and irresistible charm.
Warren as a human was handsome, but his vampiric body was magnificent.
The changes happened slowly and gave me time to prepare for what would happen when he woke.
His hunger would be palpable, so he would have to feed from me to curb it long enough for me to explain what had happened.
After that, we could hunt somewhere close by—he would not be able to withstand passing by so many heartbeats without drinking from the living.
Once he had fed…I was scared to think about that. His mind would settle somewhat, a clarity being found once the haze of hunger was at bay, and he would be able to truly understand what had transpired.
What I had done to him.
What I had taken from him.
I lost track of time, watching him and waiting to see his eyes open. He began to move little by little at first, a twitch of his hand or moving a finger. His feet stretched out, then his legs. Until finally, his whole body became relaxed and very much alive—as alive as the dead could be.
“Mon amour, it is time to wake up,” I said softly, calling him home.
As though hearing my voice, Warren grasped my arms and awoke with a gasp, his eyes flashing open. My breath left me at seeing him, his eyes now the same dazzling violet of my own.
I pulled him into me, crashing my lips against his in a passionate kiss, letting my love pour into it. I wanted his first memory of immortality to be my lips on his.
“Welcome back, my love.”