Within The Shadows (10 page)

Alex
interrupted my
train of thought as he
placed his hands on either side of my face, and pulled me to his
lips. His lips met mine. I tried resisting his mouth, but soon
found myself falling for the same sweet aroma that poured from
every crevice of his body.

It was
irresistible. He was irresistible.

Hell. What
had I gotten myself into?

‘
Hell’ was
the operative word.

Chapter Eight

THE NEXT
FEW
hours before sunrise were a mixture
of misery and confusion. I smiled pleasantly as I was wished well.
Congratulations flowed out of every mouth, and all the while,
Atarah and Leonid sat back with smug grins on their faces. Well, on
her face.

I felt like
a fraud. I did not love Alex. I could not bring myself to think of
him as anything other than a vampire. I did not see him the same
way I once did. He had forced me into an impossible situation, and
he was now wholly responsible for my fate.

As dawn
approached, weariness got the best of me. I wore it well upon my
face, getting the attention of an unwanted admirer.

“
Dearest
Giselle, you made a beautiful bride, but I dare say the events have
taken their toll on you.”

His
bluish-black hair was a striking match for his blue eyes. He caught
me off guard, and I forgot myself.

“
Yeah. You could say I’m done in, but others might suggest
otherwise.”

“
How do you
mean?”

“
Well, it is
common knowledge that the wedding night follows the
vows.”

Laughing, he
brushed his hand through his shiny black hair. “But one must comply
with one’s pledge.”

“
You don’t say!” Mockingly, I laughed, and it was obvious I
amused him. “And you are?”

“
How rude of me. I am Antoine Vilniv. It is a pleasure to
meet you, Your Grace.”

His bow made
me laugh.
He was very different from many
of the vampires there that night. He was not serious. He was funny.
It definitely helped with the seriousness of my situation, and had
me at complete ease; kinda odd, considering what had just taken
place.

“
Nice to meet you, too, Antoine.”

“
Now that the formalities are done with, tell me, how does
it feel to be the one to snag his Lordship?” His sarcasm was a
breath of fresh air.

“
Put it like this, I’m a little afraid, and so not ready for
any of this bullshit. The deed has been done. Better to get on with
it, and hope for the best. I’m curious, though. What do you mean I
was ‘the one to snag him’? If I am being honest, I always thought
he was gay!” I lied.

Antoine
laughed hard. Atarah looked over, and her stern look said it all –
condemnation. I felt my cheeks flush, and broke her gaze to find
Alex standing by my side.

“
So, this is
where all the fun is to be had?” he remarked as he slyly flashed
his fangs.

“
Cousin, your bride has a mammoth sense of humour. You must
bring her to court more often.” He kissed me on the cheek, and took
Alex by the hand. A firm handshake took place. “Congratulations.
She is truly beautiful.”

Alex nodded
his agreement, and placed his arm tightly around my waist,
possessively. We passed the reducing crowd, and bade our farewells
to Atarah and Leonid.

I felt sick
thinking about being alone with Alex. I did not trust myself, and I
did not want to lose control. Atarah pulled me off to the side. She
clearly had something on her mind.

“
I trust that your little encounter the other night didn’t
result in you losing too much of your virtue.”

I began to defend myself, only
to have her brush me off.

“
If you feel nervous, you must follow a man’s lead. He will
teach you to be a lover. But to throw caution to the wind, it would
be wise to remember that the whole purpose of the consummation is
to become ‘tehotna’ – pregnant. Always remember your place,
Giselle. Sleep well, child.”

She placed a
kiss on my forehead.
Atarah’s demeanour
was beginning to change, and this frightened me almost as much as
the thought of losing my virginity did.

“
Goodnight, children.” Leonid bowed, and the two of them
walked out of the hall, leaving me alone with Alex.

Sunrise was
imminent, and as Alex led me away from the hall, I again felt sick.
Once in ‘our’ room, nervousness crept in, and I instantly feared
the inevitable. I was completely vulnerable.

He took me
by the hands
, and directed me to the bed.
I trembled as he embraced me. His strong torso almost crushed my
head. He held on to me for a few minutes before breaking away.
Looking down at me, he pulled the pins from my hair, allowing it to
fall loose around my shoulders. Not making a sound, he walked
behind me, unzipping the dress. It fell to the floor, leaving me
standing there in my underwear and heels.

He brushed
his hand over my abdomen, sliding his fingers across the top of my
panties.
Gently kissing the back of my
neck, he slowly opened his mouth, his fangs brushing against my
skin. I shivered, shaking with anticipation, fear, and excitement
rolled into one.

Alex turned
me around to face him, his eyes aglow. I could feel the pull of
desire, and, trying not to give in, I moved away from him, hitting
the solid wall behind me.

Watching me,
he stripped, throwing every piece of clothing to the floor. Naked,
he walked up to me, pushing me hard against the wall, and bit deep
into my neck. The pain was unbearable, and I cried out. He drank
from me incessantly, not letting go of my wrists.

S
oon enough, the pain turned into
something else. It spread deep from within, a fire bursting through
me. I could feel him, every thought and feeling he had. I could
sense his arousal and his anger. He wanted to teach me a lesson,
but his longing and lust for me ruled his emotions. I easily gave
in to the wanting.

He loosened
his grip, and immediately, I ran my fingers through his hair. God,
I wanted him so badly. He broke away from my neck, his lips red.
Licking them, I tasted my own blood, and it stimulated every sense
in my body.

We gazed at
each other. Pulling me by my hands, he thrust me down onto the bed,
and moved directly over me, removing my underwear. His hands and
mouth explored parts of me that had never been touched.

I never
thought that being submissive would be a turn on, but believe me, I
had never desired anyone so much. At that moment, I was his. I was
the object of his desire.

Kissing him
as his strong arms supported him, he eased himself into me. I
tightened myself, almost afraid of the act itself. I stung, and the
burning sensation that intensified inside me began to simmer as
something changed. The pain became something else. Light ripples of
euphoria tingled its way throughout my body, leaving me breathless
as I pulled him closer to me, our bodies moving in
rhythm.

We were as
one.
All the anger I felt towards him
melted, and in its place, I found myself longing for him and his
body. He made love to me as I had always imagined. It felt magical,
and with each movement, I craved him more. He brought me to the
peak of ecstasy more than once. My body writhed uncontrollably each
time.

Afterwards,
I lay in his arms in silence, and guilt welled up inside me. I
longed for my mother. I wanted her to hold me, and tell me all
would be ok, but I knew deep in my heart that nothing could take
away my addiction to Alex, and I dreaded the future.

Sleep
refused to come to me. I fought hard with my conscience. I tried to
find some place in my mind to escape to, but nothing could save
me.

I silently
crept out from under Alex’s embrace, and put the dress on. Leaving
the room brought a great sense of freedom, if only momentarily. I
felt alive. I wanted one thing only, my mother.

Walking down
the long corridor, I knew exactly where I was going, and
concentrated on getting to the one place in which I knew I would
have a chance of getting in touch with my mother. Before entering
the room, I looked around, making sure no one saw me. I was pretty
confident they would all be fast asleep.

The rain hit
hard against the window of Afanas’s study. The raging wind that
accompanied it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge.
I riffled through the drawers in search of anything that gave me a
chance of talking to my mother. As Alex had told me earlier in the
week, I was permitted to call home weekly. Now was the perfect time
to make contact.

I found a
myriad of items.
Books, many of them in
another language, some files with dates and times, and then there
it was, a file with my name on it. Taking it out, I sat down on the
floor, and opened it up.

Every detail
was accounted for, my date of birth, my parents, everything down to
my favourite foods, dislikes, and Marc. Why did they need so much
stuff on Marc? He was of little importance, just my one-time
boyfriend, and the love of my life.

A list of
names stood out. Half of the female faculty of my school,
De La Salle
, back home in Minneapolis, were listed. One name stood out
amongst the rest – Evie Stokes.

Christ.

I could not
believe Afanas had a file on me. I was even more shocked that Evie
was listed amongst ‘the desirable candidates.’
What was going on?

Shocked, I
did not hear Afanas as he entered the room. Once I realised I was
not alone, I shoved the paperwork under the sofa, and tried to look
innocent. He was as surprised as me.

“
Giselle!”
He moved lightly across
the floor. “What is it you require at this ungodly
hour?”

I glanced at
the clock. “It’s only five p.m.”

“
In your old world, yes, it is early, but here, this is
still the night. I’m sure you’ve noticed your daytime schedule has
changed somewhat.”

“
Yeah, I guess a lot of things have changed. Why aren’t you
still asleep, then?” I asked as I got to my feet, trying not to
draw attention to the file under the sofa.

“
One has been restless, and as always, there is so much to
be done.” He sat behind his desk, and eyed me. “What is it you
want?”

“
I . . . I was hoping to call my mother. I’m a little
homesick, and I just . . . you know, wish she were
here.”

“
Of course, you are home sick. It is natural for one to seek
comfort in the arms of one’s mother. After all, you are still
human, so to speak.”

“
So, can
I?”

“
Yes, you may. Please take a seat.”

I sat down,
and crossed my legs. Afanas looked through his drawers. He seemed
confused. Agitated, he scratched the tip of his chin, and looked at
me.

“
Strange. I swore I had left your contact details in here,
but I’m sure I’ve only misplaced them. Do you, by any chance, know
your own number?”

“
Yeah,” I snickered at him.

“
You dial zero, zero, one, and then your own number . .
.”

“
Yeah, I know the rest. Thanks.”

I picked up
the receiver, dialled the number, and waited nervously for someone
to answer.

“
Hello,” my mother answered the phone sleepily. Her voice
sounded the same as always, soft. God, I missed her so
much.

“
Mom, it’s
me.”

“
Giselle! Oh, honey. We’ve been so worried. Your poor father
is beside himself with grief.”

“
I’m sorry. I really am. I just . . . I had to get away for
a bit . . .”

She cut me
off.
“This is so typical of you. Why
didn’t you just tell us that you and Marc had some kind of falling
out? We could have helped. I would have helped.”

“
Mom, not
even you could fix it.”

“
Have you any idea what we have gone through these past nine
days? Marc is absolutely distraught. The poor boy doesn’t know what
to do with himself. Whatever he has done, surely it is worth
forgiving?”

“
Oh, Mom. You really have no idea, do you?”

She paused.
“No, just that you two had a falling out at the prom. Or something
like that. I don’t listen to idle gossip,” she lied.

“
Mom, the gossip is true. Marc slept with Evie, and recorded
it. Someone thought it would be great to leave a copy of it in my
locker. I have never been so humiliated,” I cried, the tears
falling over my hand as I held the phone to my ear.

“
Don’t cry, Sweetie.”

“
How can I not cry? I love him, or at least I did. I’m so
sorry for putting you through this. I promise I’ll make it up to
both you and Daddy soon.”

“
You have nothing to be sorry for. I just wish you’d told me
before now. Maybe, I could have done something. Please come home,
Giselle.” Her voice broke.