Chapter 5

KIAN'S POV

I watch as she rests in her bed.

I left her alone when she emerged from the bathroom, pretending to be asleep to put her at ease. Zero hadn’t said anything to me after she had slammed the door, choosing instead to scowl like a child and ignore me.

It hadn't taken long for either of them to drift off.

Now, I am free to just look at her.

She is beautiful.

Not radiant in the same way those TV and magazine models are. She has a simple beauty. Her light brown hair, unlike my darker colour, lies on the pillow around her head, spread out evenly.

No.

She is pure. Innocent.

That is her light.

She didn't deserve what happened to her. If I had been able to stop it, to protect her as I'd promised, she would know me. Perhaps we wouldn't have been separated by these gaps in her memory.

Would it have been better had she looked at me as though I were merely a stranger?

I almost growl at the thought.

I wanted her to know me; I wanted her to remember me.

But I can’t stand the way she looks at me. As though I'm a monster.

It would be better to build our relationship from the ground up.

Every time she looks at me, I feel a piercing pain shoot through my chest.

***

4 YEARS AGO

KIAN AGED 18, LEXI AGED 14

I can only watch my girl from afar at times like these. She may sense me, sense us all, but she has no idea how to protect herself, no idea of the danger she faces from us. How am I to keep her safe all the time? Her blood is different to everyone else; I've never known anyone to smell the way she does.

How to describe it?

It carries the normal scents associated with humans. The blood has a metallic, copper, iron-like smell to it; a typical scent in human blood. To a vampire, the scent has an intoxicating aroma that becomes quickly addictive.

The young ones find it hard to resist.

Like a bee to a sweet, perfumed flower.

But Alex's blood has something else.

I could never identify exactly what it was when we were children.

There is a scent that links her to her family, to Miss Emma, and to me. It identifies her linage. Though very few will ever be able to identify her bloodline, it's a risk not worth taking.

Vampire blood is a little different to humans.

The average vampire doesn't smell as good as human blood. The dilution throughout the years had caused this fainter, less appealing scent.

Hunters had minimal traces of vampire blood, dating back to a much earlier time when vampires had cross-mated with humans. The result was a human who could match our physical abilities, with the sweet tasting liquid every vampire craved.

The diluted mixture of vampire and human in a hunter had an effect once considered peculiar; it gave the vampire who drank it a high not unlike alcohol, just without the negative side-effects.

Some chose to go after the blood of hunters for the temporary high it caused.

Alex had a similar smell to that of a hunter.

I've come across scents ever so faintly like hers a couple of times, but never anything as potent.

To a vampire that hasn't been around her before, I've seen them get hooked on her scent, to the point where I have to step in and scare them away.

Yes, there have been the few that are stupid enough to ignore me. My status alone should have warned them, but, occasionally, I had to deal with them; make them permanently disappear, so to say.

I wish of nothing more than to be openly by her side all time, never separated, but fate has cruel plans for everyone. She can barely stand the sight of me; the presence of any vampire is enough to set her off.

Unfortunately, this is one of those times that another vampire has caught wind of her scent.

I watch as female vampire inhales deeply.

I step out of the shadows.

Her eyes widen as she takes me in, feeling the power from my bloodline.

Yes, I think.

I am not like many of the others; it could be said, that I am a member of a dying aristocracy. I belong to a family of nobility that has spanned many millennia, and that power has not diluted throughout the years. My family was, perhaps one of the few, if not only, who maintained the bloodlines meticulously so as not to reduce the power we held. My bloodline had enhanced senses and abilities that many others can only dream of.

Where these powers have been dying out over the generations, mine became far stronger than many could ever imagine. A secret I must keep if I'm to remain close to my Alex.

The girl looks up at me carefully. She couldn't be more than fifteen; such a waste.

I can tell she feels uncomfortable from her squirming.

"Forget the scent. Leave her be," I say. "This is your only warning."

"B-b-but, the smell," she whines.

"Your only warning," I remind, retreating to the shadows.

She stands still for a fraction before drawing Alex's scent in once more. I can practically see the saliva dribble from her mouth as she runs her tongue along her canines.

"Immortui," I murmur.

Her scent makes her easily recognisable; the physical changes just haven't begun to appear yet. I'd say she's only a few days old at most. The rot usually sets in at seven to nine days. She is the early stages of the same being that attacked Alex as a child.

"W-what?" she stammers.

"You haven't progressed too far. I see you still have your sanity, at least. Go, while you have the chance. I will not offer it again."

The Immortui, the Latin word for undead, are a branch of vampire that I'd much rather forget exist. They are not born like most of us, nor are they fully turned like the rare few that are amongst us. To turn a human takes a huge toll on a vampire's body; and it is fairly common that many never complete the process because of this.

As a result, we are left with the Immortui. When a human is touched by a vampire and blood is taken, but the process not completed, they die inside; madness sets in, and the body dies, while the human rapidly loses their mind. They have the base instincts to feed and barely anything else beyond.

Young vampires can't help themselves. They take too much blood and the human body starts shutting down, but the substance excreted by our fangs run through their systems preventing a full death, and instead begins altering them. Their body begins to change, but is unable to complete the process without the vampire giving up their own blood.

During a normal feed, where a small amount of blood is taken, the human becomes exhausted; though they don't normally remember the act itself. The, venom, if you will, is mostly harmless, but acts as a toxin, similar to an overdose. Then, it tries to preserve life, though ends up making things worse.

This Immortui however, is no different than the others. She is going to lose rational thought.

I should just kill her.

But I remain close to Alex as I leave the Immortui behind, deliberating, I hope.

Alex is always on edge when outside as she feels us everywhere. Not surprising considering her history.

Yet, thanks to the imprint bond already in place, I get a strong sense of her emotional state. While she has a sense of my own emotions, she cannot feel the bond like I do. She doesn’t feel the agonising need to be close, to want to be with her all the time. The knowledge that the part of her she doesn’t know is missing has never truly left her side.

I can't force it on her. Not yet. She isn't ready. But soon. I can't do this for much longer. Slinking in the shadows, arranging visits; it's not enough for me. But I do it for her sake.

Her hair hasn’t changed. It's just as wild as it always was, only longer.

She stiffens and I pull further away. It's not me she senses.

The Immortui has followed her.

At least I gave her the chance, even if it was cruel to allow her to continue to live in this brief period of madness.

Vampire's don't have super-speed; we really are just like humans, only stronger; our natural abilities are merely heightened. But still, I move quickly and, am almost instantly by the Immortui's side.

"Going somewhere," I whisper.

The parts of her that haven’t succumbed to madness, shiver.

"I wasn't—"

"I gave you a chance."

I break her neck.

Her lifeless body falls limp at my feet.

I see Alex smile as she is joined by another.

Zero.

I dislike him, but I can't truly hate him; he makes Alex smile.

I just wish that smile was meant for me

***