Destined: the Vampire's Soulmate
A human girl full of secrets, a vampire, and a city where both can live free. * COMPLETED * When Julia appears at the city gates, she's tired and scared. All she asks for is shelter, and she's willing to accept anything to avoid going back to the hunters. She brings with her a secret that would cost her her life. Leo is the one that senses her presence, and he doesn't like how all his instincts draw him to her. Yet, he can't resist it. When his urges become invincible, he proposes a contract. In exchange for protection and safety, he wants her everything. In a world where races are at war, two souls meet. Can love bloom from a bond that was forced from fate? Can their feelings become genuine, even if determined by destiny? WARNING: smut Cover from Heather_ANARE *** I caress her arm, reaching her hand. I bring it to my mouth and prick her forefinger with my fang. When a single drop of blood spills out, I pass my tongue on it, healing the wound I made. «Just as I thought,» I whisper. «Delicious.» Julia opens her eyes but soon turns her gaze to the side, light blushing covering her cheeks. Her breath is heavy, but she tries to hide it. It's that excitement from before, that feeling of expectation for something that won't happen. «But I won't bite. You can stop freezing every time. As you can see, I can control myself.» «You don't have to,» she mumbles, and I almost grab her again. Is she really this naive, or just stupid? But most importantly, does she say that every time someone aims at her blood? «You shouldn't say these words to a vampire.» «You're thirsty, and I am prey. I understand how you feel.» «You don't understand a thing.» «But I know that this is how things work. You need blood to survive, and I happen to have plenty.» «I don't want your blood.» She winces, and her smile falters. As if I've just offended her. Yet, she doesn't want to make me notice. «Sorry for not being to your taste,» she shrugs. What the hell? Ah, I just wanted to comfort her. Why is she pretending to be sad now? I grab her shirt and push her against the wall. I don't use any strength; I don't want to hurt her. I just want her to notice my presence, to feel cornered. To realise that she shouldn't say words that she would regret later. When she lifts her eyes to look at me, I kiss her lips with more strength than I have initially planned to. Though she doesn't complain about that. *** You can chat with me on discord: bit.ly/discordxiaohai Instagram: xiaohai_23 Facebook: Xiao Hai or Xiaohai_23 (FB page) Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/xiaohai_23 (you'll find my short stories here) My other stories on Webnovel: * Crazy Duke and Fallen Queen (historical romance, completed, ~350 chapters) * The Cursed Tyrant and His Reluctant Queen (historical and fantasy romance, ongoing) * Unexpected Gift (sci-fi romance, ongoing, free to read, 1k chapters expected)
Stretching (Julia)
I like how the first training is going to finish. I'm not sure why Leo has stopped teasing me all of a sudden, but it should be related to the way he avoided me for a few days.
Oh, maybe I'm thinking too much into it. What if the link is weakening, and that is the only reason why Leo has been distant?
He takes a step back and observes me with a stern gaze.
«Cool down!» he orders with the same tone he uses with his students.
I shiver, feeling the threat in his voice. Now I understand how that horde of teenagers manages to stay back and do some stretching, regardless of how much they'd run out.
«How?» I whisper, feeling a drop of sweat slipping down from my temple to the cheek.
He's not going to scold me, is he?
«I'll show you,» he chuckles, amusement shining in his eyes. He seems more content that I don't know what to do than annoyed.
«Leg up,» he states, showing me a spot on the barre attached to the wall.
«I haven't used my legs,» I point out.
«No, but stretching is to be done whole-body. And I won't need to explain again next time.»
«Are you going to teach me how to kick next time?»
«We'll see. Now, leg.»
I lift my ankle and lean it on the bar. Now, I'm supposed to bend my torso until my head touches the knee or something, right?
«First of all, pay more attention to yourself than me, for the moment,» Leo says, reminding me what I'm here for. «Keep the leg straight. If you feel pain, stop. As the name suggests, you should feel your muscles stretching but not hurting. The more you stay in a position, the less difficult it becomes. With time and practice, you'll improve your elasticity.»
He presses his fingers on my thigh, testing the fibres of my muscles.
He uses his leg to move my foot on the ground a few inches back. He nods as if he's sensed the perfect tension on my thigh.
«If anything I do hurts, tell me immediately,» he warns me before pressing on my knee until the leg is straight like a ruler. «Perfect... You're quite elastic.»
«Thank you, I suppose.»
«It's a quality. You don't hurt your arms or legs with sudden movements that often, do you?»
«Indeed, that doesn't happen.»
«Now, try reaching the knee with your forehead. Remember: stop before it hurts.»
I do as he said, but I stop before my forehead can touch the knee. I'm not sure how much a normal girl can do, but this shouldn't be too suspicious. I can't afford to trigger Leo's suspicions.
«Okay, now with the other leg,» he says.
As I follow his directions, I realise that he's closer than before. He's touching me to check whether I'm injuring myself, and I have to pay more attention than normal.
He'll notice both if I don't stretch my muscles at all or if I overdo it. It's dangerous.
«Can... Can you take a step back?» I whisper, looking at him with wide eyes and accelerated breath. Like this, he'll assume his presence is influencing me and let go, right?
«Do not overdo it,» he mumbles while raising his arms in a sign of surrender. «When it...»
«When it starts to hurt, I'll stop,» I repeat, rolling my eyes in an exasperated motion.
«All right,» Leo says. Somehow, he's displeased.
He instructs me from some distance, telling me in detail what part of my body to move in which way. In the end, I manage to do the whole exercise on my own, so Leo doesn't have any need to intervene and stop me before I break some bone or stretch some muscle too much.
When we're done, he points at the door with his head, and we reach the room to take a shower. Only later, we can have dinner.
«If you're tired, I can bring the food here,» he mutters.
«No need,» I chuckle. I threw a couple of punches. I'm not that exhausted. I can manage to walk to the dining hall. «And you promised me your slice of cake...»
«I remember,» he replies. «Go take a shower, or the others will eat your dessert.»
Once done, we stroll to the dining hall while chatting. We don't have much to say to each other. We spend the whole day together. Yet, speaking with him is pleasant.
«Your clothes must be ready,» Leo says. «At least part of them... We can take them after eating.»
«Is the shop open then?»
«Dafina usually closes at midnight,» he comments. «She works from the afternoon to late in the night so that both humans and vampires can visit. Even though not many vampires buy clothes from her.»
«We shouldn't bother her this late... Or early, whatever,» I mumble. Does Leo want to see her that badly? «We can go tomorrow. If you're not busy, of course...»
«All right,» he sighs. «You'll have to sleep in my t-shirt once again. Aren't you annoyed by that?»
«Not really.» I shrug, looking at my fingers clenching the blouse. I can sleep naked if that's a problem.
I wore his clothes from ages ago for the training, and I felt comfortable. Is there such a need to have many more?
I rub my eyes, realising that my thoughts got out of control. What in the world am I thinking?
I don't have any right to feel like this. It must be the link that sometimes triggers such ideas in my mind.
«Yes, we can go tomorrow!» I exclaim before my brain has time to turn in the wrong direction again. «I'm looking forward to it...»
«I hope you'll like the clothes,» Leo comments. His hand finds its way to my hair, and he rubs it for a while, smiling content.
He must like to touch my hair very much since he does this quite often...