Initiation (13 page)

Christian then lunged for Addison, shoving her down onto a laying position on the couch. He began to kiss her with great intensity, the high of feeding making him more aggressive than normal. Addison wrapped her arms around his neck as he picked her up and carried her over to the bed.

Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on his suit jacket, a shakiness in them that normally wasn’t there. Her eyes were shut tightly, her hands reaching inside and quickly pulling it down his arms. She hurriedly undressed herself as Christian worked on his own clothes.

There was a great tension in her muscles, a rigidness to her body that Christian could feel as he made love to her. Her lips never left his, a great hunger in them that wasn’t just a product of passion, but of neediness. She was scared and upset, and Christian’s kisses made that all go away.

With every thrust of his body against hers, she slowly loosened up. Her hands dug into his skin as if she was hanging from the edge of a cliff, and if she let go she would plummet to her death. She needed him, begging for him to make all her pain go away and let his love overshadow all the things she was trying to forget.

When he sank his teeth into the delicate skin behind her ear, Addison’s mouth opened wide, her head falling limply to the side as he drank from her. The feeling was powerful—Christian’s fangs more intense than the other part he had inside her, the dual pleasures making her whole body erupt into forceful quivers.

He pulled his head from her neck, the pupils in his icy eyes showing his arousal as he briefly took in the pleasured look on her face. He wanted to feel it as well and placed a rough hand behind her head, shoving her face into his neck. Addison quickly bit him, igniting a giant grin on his devilish face.

Her bite was rough at first, but it quickly became gentler with every passing second, until finally all Christian could feel were her lips trembling against his skin. Her head soon fell back into the pillow as she fell asleep.

Christian moved off her and lay next to her, holding her to him tightly. He was very content as he held her naked body in his arms and gently stroked her hair. Addison was sound asleep from the taste of his blood, her once tense body limp and warm. He slowly pulled her hair away from her neck as he watched the wound from his bite disappear, her skin soon returning to its normal flawless beauty.

One of Addison’s hands rested on his bare chest, her long slender fingers much paler in compassion to his eternally sun-kissed skin. On her finger, she wore a giant ruby ring, a present from Christian to celebrate their move back to
Pargon
.

Addison was much different from Christian’s typical choice in lovers. She was fragile, her touch on his skin like the soft caress of a flower’s petal. He loved that about her. No matter how much he molded her to be a killer, that sweet look of an angel remained in her gentle eyes. Even with his own poisonous blood flowing through her, she was still pure, his own orb of light that warmed the ice surrounding his heart.

Christian smiled when he heard loud crashes coming from the floor below. Letting out a soft chuckle, he quickly got dressed and left Addison sleep. He knew what was going on and wanted a part in it. He quickly made his way downstairs and jumped down the side of the staircase like a graceful cat. He licked his lips in anticipation, the sound of screams echoing throughout the hallways.

Opening the door to the sitting room slowly, Christian’s eyes went to a young girl one of his vampires, Darien, had cornered on the far side of the room. She wasn’t a willing victim, and Darien was enjoying the chase and taking his supper by force.

There were a few other men and women in the room, two other vampires cornering them before attacking. The female vampires weren’t anything like Victoria and Nicolette, they were vicious killers and delighted in the hunt as much as the male elites.

The feeding that was taught to Addison was not anything like this. There was no magic used to put their victims in a trance, and this certainly wasn’t the calm, romanticized ritual practiced by Addison’s previous family of vampires. These vampires were sadistic killers, their intention was to strike fear in their victims.

A frightened young woman broke free of the vampires that cornered her, running for Christian’s arms. She begged him to save her, her makeup running down her cheeks as she grabbed at his clothes in desperation.

"I am not a savior, my dear." Her terrified expression made Christian laugh, his hand reaching down and grabbing hold of her shirt. His face filled with a giant smile as he bared his fangs, igniting an enormous scream from the woman.

Christian grinned at his vampires, who had noticed his presence when they heard the woman’s shriek. They were very happy to see him, the sight of their Master making them become even more violent toward their targets. Christian happily joined in on the fun and chased a few unwilling preys around the room.

Upstairs the noises woke Addison, her eyes slowly opening as she looked over to where Christian was supposed to be. When she didn’t see him, she quickly sat up in bed, covering herself with the thick black sheets. Her head was swimming, the effect of drinking Christian’s blood still making her very groggy. She was scared of the old manor, daunted by everything from the intimate lighting to the intimidating stone walls.

Hearing a few loud screams, Addison jumped, scooting backward and almost hitting her head on the headboard. She covered her mouth so her yelp couldn’t escape, the fear showing on her tender features. She pulled her knees up to her chest, her fingers gripping the sheets tightly as she looked around the room nervously.

She bit her lip, one of her small fangs sticking out and almost piercing her skin. Her voice came out mousey and shaky, "Christian?" Addison’s scared eyes darted around the room as it went silent again, the fire crackling in the monstrous fireplace the only sound she could hear. "Christian?"

A crashing near the stairs made her jump again, the action getting a little too close for her to stay still. She quickly hopped out of bed and got dressed, shoving on her shoes without putting on her socks. Her long hair fell about her face in loose curls, her large blue eyes lit up by the flames. She hid under the desk, hoping Christian would come back soon.

She remembered Nicolette telling her stories about vampire hunters in
Pargon
, her mind racing with thoughts of them coming and trying to kill her. She heard a few pairs of feet run down the hallway, followed by a woman’s screaming. Someone was slammed into the wall outside Addison’s room, some of the pictures shaking on their hooks.

Pulling her knees to her chest, Addison whimpered a little as she shook, her teeth chattering. She could hear one of the female vampires talking to the woman and the woman’s pleas not to be killed.

Addison now realized that it was vampires causing all that ruckus and not hunters. She grabbed a pillow and blanket, laying down under the desk because she was afraid to sleep alone in the bed. Still under the tingling spell of Christian’s blood, she soon drifted off and didn’t emerge from her hiding place until morning.

It was scary being without Christian or Nicolette in this strange dwelling, and Addison was terrified to even take a step out of her room. She took a shower and dressed to pass the time, but soon she had built up enough courage to go look for Christian.

Sneaking out the door as if she had something to hide, Addison slowly made her way downstairs. On the staircase, a servant was sweeping up the mess made by the vampires the previous night. A giant plant that sat on a large landing near the middle of the flight had been knocked over, it’s dirt still spilt all over the floor.

Addison smiled at her as she paused. "Good morning." Her hand rested on the thick railing, her fingers not able to wrap fully around the monstrous piece of woodwork. The sun was up now, the large glass windows letting in the warm morning light.

Smiling, the woman responded in
Sarvonese
, Christian’s native tongue. Addison had no idea what she was saying as the woman rambled on and on. The woman seemed very friendly and was greeting Addison warmly, even though they had never met.

Her kindliness made Addison feel a little better, some of her fear disappearing. "Umm…" A little confused, Addison took out a small electronic device from her pocket that Christian had bought her to use as a translator.

Addison typed—

Do you know where Master
Vallore
is?

Then she pushed the button on the device that said “translate into
Sarvonese
.” It worked, but Addison frowned because the language was hard to speak, and she had no idea how to pronounce the words. So instead, she got closer to the woman, who was watching her curiously with the same friendly smile on her face.

Addison showed her what was written on the small screen.
This made the woman laugh as she gently took the translator from Addison and typed in her answer. She said something in
Sarvonese
as she handed it back to Addison. Addison smiled back at her nervously before reading the message.

You are new here, huh?

Addison nodded yes. The woman took the translator back and wrote something else. Addison looked over the woman’s shoulder curiously, as she read her response.

I am Ellie. And you?

Addison spoke, a playful grin on her face as she looked briefly up at the woman, "Addison."

The woman beamed before she typed something else on Addison’s translator.

Leave him alone and go back home. It’s not safe for you here.

Addison was taken aback by what the woman had written, her jaw dropping a little. The woman patted her on the back a few times, saying something in
Sarvonese
as she laughed. Then, she returned to her work, grabbing her dustpan and walking down the stairs, leaving Addison standing alone.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Addison sat down on the edge of one of the steps. She took her phone out of her pocket and dialed Nicolette’s number.

"Hello." Nicolette’s voice cooed in Addison’s ear, the familiar motherly tone of her mentor making her smile a little. "How are you doing, my dear? Do you like Castile?"

"No." Frowning, Addison stood up and slowly descended the stairs. Her fingers playfully drummed the railing as she sauntered lazily. "I can’t understand anything anyone says, and last night the vampires here almost destroyed the house…and now I can’t find the Master anywhere, and no one understands what I’m trying to say, and…and…"

Pausing, Addison sniffled, but she held back her tears. "I miss you, Nicolette. I want to go home. It’s scary here."

Addison sat down on the stairs again, a large pout forming on her lips as she listened to Nicolette’s response. "It is not as bad as it seems, my dear. It’s—"

The servant she had talked to before walked up to her, motioning for her to move. She shooed Addison away with her hands, saying something in
Sarvonese
angrily. Standing up quickly, she turned around and gave the woman a dirty look before storming off.

There was a whiney tone to Addison’s voice as she spoke to Nicolette. "How am I supposed to find the Master if no one will tell me where he is?"

"Did you try calling his phone?" Nicolette laughed, "He’s probably in the sitting room on the first floor."

"He left his phone in the bedroom, and I don’t know where the sitting room is." Addison searched the hallways, every place she turned to was unfamiliar as she got lost in the giant manor. "This place is so huge, I can’t find anything…or anyone."

Her gaze settled on a few servants exiting a room at the end of the hall, the tall doors elaborately carved from expensive wood. Something important seemed to lie beyond those doors. She wondered if that was the sitting room Nicolette had mentioned. "I’ll look a little more. I’ll call you later, Nicolette."

"Yes, dear."

Addison hung up the phone and quickly walked toward a servant. The man stopped and looked at her curiously as he waited for her to speak to him.

Addison had typed into her translator as she was going down the hallway—
Where is the Master?—
and showed it to him.

Pointing to the room he had come from, the man had an annoyed expression on his face. He put his finger to his lips and motioned for her to be quiet. Addison moved toward the room. Her steps were fast on her approach, but she slowed as she got closer. She peered into the slightly open door and scanned the chamber within.

Inside the vampires were sleeping, Christian passed out between two very gorgeous women, who were lying with him on the couch. They were partially naked and wearing what appeared to be only their underwear. There were a few more reclining around other parts of the room as well, the servants walking around them carefully as they quietly took away the dead bodies.

Addison’s jealousy got the best of her, and she quickly retreated. She didn’t want to be anywhere near Christian after seeing him like that, so she spun around and ran in the opposite direction.

She quickly called Nicolette again, Addison’s words abrupt and fast flowing. "I hate it here! I want to go home!" Addison sat on a chair in the wide hallway, the whiny tone in her voice returning. "Please…wire me a ticket back to Caron. I don’t want to stay here." She began to cry, giant tears falling from her sad eyes. "I’m scared…please Nicolette."