I squeezed her hand. “This is the last day you will ever have to worry about her, Emilia. I promise.”
“You’ve had her blood, Derek. You will crave her the moment you lay eyes on her. You will want to drink her blood, but you can’t. Promise me that you won’t. I want you to rip her heart out. I don’t want a drop of her blood to ever enter your system again. Do you understand me?”
I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering what kind of powers this young woman possessed, so much so that even Emilia trembled at the thought of me being around her.
I was soon able to find out, because after they made us wait at the Port for Sofia’s arrival, I found my senses in complete overdrive the moment I laid eyes on the girl, who was surrounded by a group of vampires. Everything about her screamed at me to feed on her. Her long, red hair, her green eyes, her lovely nubile form… She was a siren begging me to partake of her.
If it weren’t for Emilia holding on to my elbow, holding me back, I would’ve lunged at her and fed on her the moment she came within sight. Instead, I just stood there and stared at Sofia, wanting her. I wondered why she had such a look of delight on her face.
She broke into a smile the moment she laid eyes on me. “Derek!” she exclaimed. “You’re back.” Tears began to moisten her eyes. “I missed you so much.” She then looked at Emilia and back at me, most likely sensing something amiss. She gulped nervously. “What’s the matter?”
The thought of ripping her heart out suddenly became sickening. This is why she is a threat to me and Emilia. Emilia was right. I must end her.
“Remember what I told you, Derek,” Emilia hissed. “You can’t drink her blood.”
Sofia furrowed her brows. “What’s going on, Derek?”
Her voice was music to my ears – sweet and intoxicating. I couldn’t understand the sensations and emotions coursing through my entire being, but I knew that I had to gain back control of myself and end Sofia like I promised. I have to do it or I will lose the woman I love forever.
I was about to lunge toward Sofia when to my surprise, she pulled her hair back to expose one side of her neck to me. “Why can’t you drink my blood? Did she tell you why?”
I couldn’t respond, because my eyes were already fixed on her neck and all I could think of was taking a bite. Despite Emilia’s admonitions for me not to, I wanted this young stranger’s blood coursing through me. Ignoring Emilia’s screams for me to stop, I threw Sofia against a wall and took a bite. My claws came out. I wanted to rip her heart out as I drank her blood.
I was expecting her to whimper, to beg for her life, to scream. Instead, as I drank her blood and threatened to end her life, all Sofia did was hum me the most haunting tune I’d ever heard. I felt her soft hands gently take hold of both of my wrists as she whispered, “Remember, Derek.”
I don’t know who you are. Even as the thought came to me, I knew immediately that it was a lie. I knew this woman. The feel of her blood inside me – the power that came with it, the pleasure that was beginning to pump through my whole system – all of it was too familiar. I was so consumed by Sofia, I lost track of everything else around me.
All that was left in my consciousness was Sofia and my determination to kill her.
Chapter 39: Sofia
I knew from the moment I saw Derek that something was wrong. He had a glazed look in his eyes. He seemed listless and out of his senses. He looked straight at me and it was as if it was the first time he’d ever seen me.
I knew Derek Novak. He was the man of my dreams and it was clear that the man Emilia returned to The Shade with was nothing but a shadow of the original.
I glared at Emilia. What have you done to him? I then returned my eyes toward Derek. I wondered what had to be done to get him back to me. The look he was giving me wasn’t something I was a stranger to. He was looking at me like I was his prey. I could sense the thirst emanating from him. He was craving a drink. At that moment, he wasn’t seeing his lover. The predator was seeing his prey.
I was surprised when Emilia told him that he wasn’t to drink my blood. I fixed my eyes on Derek. Why? Why doesn’t she want my blood coursing through you?
I was losing him and I knew it and I could tell just by the look on his face that he was about to do something he was going to regret for the rest of his life. I went by gut instinct and did what I knew would horrify my father.
I pulled my hair back and offered myself to him as I had done many times before, but this time, I was no longer expecting him to hold back. I wanted him to give in. I wanted him to break free of whatever grasp Emilia had on him.
I succeeded but I wasn’t prepared for what came next. Derek lunged for me, throwing me into the wall stronger than he ever did before. My breath got knocked out of me the moment my back hit the wall. My shock hadn’t even worn off yet, when his teeth painfully sank into my neck and he began drinking my blood.
Emilia was screaming like a mad woman for Derek to stop. I could see the horror in her eyes when she saw Derek sink his teeth into my skin. “Derek, no!” She began to move toward him, but in a moment of confusion, the Elite Council lunged toward her to stop her.
I saw a flash of delight in Emilia’s eyes and I quickly realized why when I felt the pointed end of Derek’s claws claw right over my heart. I drew a breath when I realized what he was about to do. I tried to think of words that would jolt him back to reality. He was about to kill me, the girl he professed to love, the woman he swore to marry.
No words came, so I simply hummed our song – the same one he hummed to me time and time again, the same one that I hummed to him whenever he was about to do something he would both sorely regret.
Derek Novak was about to rip my heart out and all I could do was hum, before I managed to finally breathe out two words, hoping that it was enough to bring him back to me. “Remember, Derek.”
I was beginning to get dizzy from the blood loss. He’d never drunk so much of my blood until now. I couldn’t tell anymore who was saying what around me; it was a cacophony of mixed up voices all moved by concern.
“Derek, you’re going to kill her! Stop it!”
“He’s going to kill my daughter! Do something!”
“Hold Emilia back!”
“Kill her before she ruins everything! Do it! Rip her heart out!”
Emilia threw herself behind Derek to try and keep him from drinking more of my blood, but with one motion of his arm he was able to throw her away with one growl before once again drinking my blood. I was confused. Why is she trying to help me? Not knowing how to react to Emilia, I threw my attention at Derek. The short glimpse I had of him, I noticed that his eyes were pitch black instead of their normal bright blue.