“Oh, okay… Well…” Ashley cocked her head to the side. “Hmm… Isn’t she crazy?”
“You didn’t know her before Felix got his hands on her.”
“You did?” She looked at me curiously as if she was surprised that I was involved with any other girl in The Shade aside from the girls in Derek’s harem.
“We were able to spend some time together by the lake. She was one-of-a-kind, a lot like Sofia actually in the way she relates to people. Like she’s friends with everyone, willing to trust and forgive and just be a light.”
“Sounds like Sofia alright, but a lot less intense I guess… Sofia can be so intense when it comes to the things she’s passionate about.”
“That’s how she managed to change The Shade.”
“Too bad Anna wasn’t able to handle the pressures of the island like Sofia did.”
I swallowed hard as my eyes once again lingered on the beautiful girl. Anna’s green eyes caught mine and I could swear that there was a flicker of recognition, only to have her dart her eyes around her in panic as if she were afraid that just looking at me would cause trouble. I heaved a sigh, accepting that she would be as she was at that point and that there was little hope of her ever changing.
I turned my attention back to Ashley. “Let’s go?”
She glanced at me momentarily but then she looked at Anna’s direction. “Not quite yet.”
I followed her gaze and found Anna bounding toward me. The raven-haired beauty stopped a couple of feet away from me and just looked me straight in the eye. She then smiled. It was the first time I’d seen her smile since Felix returned her to The Catacombs.
I smiled back. She then turned around and ran back to Ian who gave me a bewildered look. I smirked. His turn to be jealous I guess.
Just like that, I couldn’t get my mind off Anna for the following days. I kept on returning to the lake, secretly hoping that she would one day show up and I could have those stolen moments with her again.
One night, I thought that my most sincere hopes would finally come true, because as I sat over the edge of the lake, my legs dangling in the cool water, I saw a feminine form approaching. I took a short intake of breath, holding it until it became clear who was approaching.
My face fell when I realized that it was Ashley.
“So this is where all your rendezvous with the pre-crazy Anna happens,” she muttered, looking around. “Don’t look so disappointed, Kyle. I mean, don’t make it so obvious that you’d rather see her than me.”
I rolled my eyes at Ashley. I was still trying to get used to having her around my home since I turned her into a vampire. She was the sister I never had and she was constantly bugging me or doing something to annoy me. There were times when I honestly thought that she was doing it on purpose.
“What are you doing here, Ash?”
“Well, ever since that time at The Catacombs after the rebellion, when she just approached, stared at you, smiled and ran off, you’ve been moping like a pathetic sap, Kyle.”
“I have not.”
“Yes, you have.” She placed her hands on her waist and rolled her eyes at me. “Please. It’s beginning to get annoying.”
“You came here to tell me that you’re annoyed that I’m moping?”
“No.” She shook her head before smiling. “I came here to give you a reason to stop moping.” She raised her forefinger in the air, gesturing for me to wait, and she ran back in the direction where she came from.
I could hear her whispering before emerging with Anna in tow.
My eyes widened with surprise. Anna hadn’t been out of The Catacombs for the longest time. She was mostly kept in there, because she was someone who would be an easy target for attack by the vampires. “Ash, what were you thinking? How do you intend to defend her in case an Elite vampire attacks her?”
The sharpness of my tone made Anna withdraw in fear, backing up a couple of steps away from me.
Ashley’s face deadpanned as she cast me a sharp glare. “What is wrong with you?” she mouthed. “She’s here safe, isn’t she?”
I approached Anna who seemed to recoil with every step I took to draw closer to her. “You’re safe with me, Anna,” I assured her.
At first, she just whimpered in response, but then as I took slow steps forward, careful not to scare her, she drew close, held my hand and led me to the dock of the lake, where we both sat over the edge. I could hear Ashley mumbling something about not being needed anymore, but my focus was on Anna and how beautiful and serene she looked as she blankly stared at the lake.
I didn’t say anything, because I wasn’t sure what I was going to say. I simply wanted to enjoy that one moment - that one snapshot of time where I felt like Anna belonged to me and me alone. We sat there in silence, simply enjoying each other’s company, our legs dangling over the water below.
Anna then began nodding before breaking the silence. Her words meant the world to me. “Yes. I’m safe with you.”
All eyes were on me as I sat across Sofia on the dining table inside her quarters. I didn’t bother finding out who exactly was surrounding me. I was too overwhelmed by the stare Sofia was throwing at me, her fascination of me clearly showing on her face.
Corrine and Vivienne sat on either side of her, while Aiden sat at the head of the table. They were making me feel uncomfortable, simply because they were staring at me like I had somehow committed a crime.
The elephant in the room, of course, was that I was once again a normal, mortal man, and no longer an immortal vampire. They’d already done every test possible to check if I had indeed turned back into a human, and it was evident that I had.
“How is it possible?” Aiden muttered beneath his breath, but still loud enough for everyone to hear.
Sofia leaned forward. “What happened, Kyle?” There was a sense of hope and excitement in her voice, although it was still laced with worry and concern.
I tried to recall what had occurred. After the ordeal I went through inside the pit Rex trapped me in, I felt like everything was a blur. I began to recount exactly what happened as I remembered it.
Drinking Anna’s blood was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I didn’t want to do it, because I knew that I would crave her every day after, but it was pure ecstasy just to taste the red liquid and feel it pounding within me. I felt amazing, powerful, unstoppable and I couldn’t even wrap my senses around why I felt that way. My conscience was nagging at me for what I was doing, but I couldn’t stop it, once her blood ran through my throat, there really was no way I could resist.