Page 1 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Kiss

Chapter One

Hayes

The pull of the blood bond was like nothing else I'd ever felt before. Maddening in its persistence, I almost wished I could stay away. If carving my own heart out and presenting it at her feet would rid me of the gnawing ache of her absence, I would gladly do it.

Leonora didn't want to see me. She'd made that abundantly clear the few times I'd tracked her down over the past two months. In between watching Adrian, learning his movements and his confidantes, I’d been drawn to Nora.

Maybe I was just weak, or maybe it was that I didn't harbour the same rage that she was feeling towards me, Rowan, and the world right now, but I was always the one who sought her out. Tonight was no different, except my patience was wearing thin and the familiar smell of blood and alcohol was becoming tiring. Beyond that, I worried for her. Since awakening as an undead vampire, she’d been through a lot—we all had. But rather than deal with it, she’d chosen to run and lose herself in blood.

The encounter was always the same.

I'd find her blood drunk, we'd fight, we'd fuck, and she'd feed. Then she'd leave. Again.

I told myself every time that it would be different. Tonight, I meant it. I'd retrieved her once before, I could do it again. Leonora Romilly was a pain in the arse, but she was my pain in the arse.

An old eighties pop song was echoing through an eerily still bar, its patrons lolling against their tables, propped against the walls. Yet, as the singer crooned about sweet dreams, I couldn't help but think this would have looked more like a nightmare for most humans.

Luckily, I wasn't human, so the scene inspired only a mild eyebrow raise.

A body hit the floor and Leonora hummed to herself, blood smearing her mouth as she raised her pale arms, covered in colourful tattoos, into the air and swayed. Gone was her usual ensemble of combat boots, jeans, and a tee. Instead, ripped fishnets covered her legs and showed off more skin than I was used to seeing from her. A red checked mini skirt was thrown casually under a slouchy band tee that was now speckled with blood and I couldn't help but stare. Covered in blood with her eyes flashing dangerously, I wasn't sure she'd ever looked more beautiful.

Piercing green eyes locked on me and her lips lifted in a silent snarl, the white of her fangs glinting in the orange light of the modern lamps tucked into the corners of the room.

“Again?” she growled and I shrugged in response. Even if I couldn't read her mind thanks to our bond and my own gifts, her thoughts were written across her face anyway.

God, why can't he leave me the fuck alone.

“Stuck together,” I reminded her dryly, answering her thoughts aloud in the way I knew particularly pissed her off. “Partying by yourself?” I observed, glancing around the room at the humans sporting glazed eyes and bloody necks. I could hear all of their hearts beating, so they were still alive for now. The only heart I couldn't detect a whisper from was that of the woman standing opposite me, and that was because she was already dead.

“Yeah, well, I find that partying by myself is better than letting loose with people who will stab me in the back.”

I kept my face in a smooth, controlled mask and just nodded thoughtfully as I walked closer to her. A man at the bar was semi-conscious and his eyes moved behind me to the door I’d walked through. A second later, his head clunked against the bar top satisfyingly as I walked past and came to a stop in front of Leonora.

The blood bond thrummed, a satisfied thread weaving between us even as it sank its claws deeper. She trembled, and I sensed she felt it too—the craving, an itch beneath our skin that intensified with every moment of separation.

“Blood bond or not, you expected me to tell you the secrets I've held onto for years that easily?”

“I expected you to trust me.”

I smirked, relishing the surge of anger emanating from her—because at least it meant I was feeling something from her. “You're not dead yet, are you?” As if there was any other option, like the bond between us would ever allow me to rip out her heart like she'd done to Rowan.

No, I'd rip out my own before even attempting it. Besides, Adrian knew now who I was. Or, at least, he heavily suspected. The glowing silver eyes of my wolf was a relatively well-kept secret, given that my family had vanished not long after I was born. But Adrian was old enough to recognise the sign of power for what it truly meant: his impending demise. The time for hiding was over.

Leonora turned away, like my words might as well not have existed. “Leave.”

She retreated, I followed. “No.”

One second I was behind her, the next she was at my throat. The benefit of being an undead vampire, I supposed. Faster than I could track, even with my heightened senses, I wouldn't be a true match for her until I was also undead.

I didn't flinch away from her, instead I tilted my chin, exposing my throat in what was more of a taunt than an invitation. This was a matter of dominance, and despite her current disdain for me, the vampiric instincts within her wouldn't allow her to ignore the challenge. Her hair brushed my chin as she inhaled my scent and I fought the way my body instantly tried to bend to accommodate hers.

“You can't make me go back.”

I breathed slowly for a second before trusting my voice enough to respond without the naked desire colouring it. “Maybe not.” The truth was, she was right. I'd have to be fast to overpower her, and even then she would only leave Ashvale as soon as she woke up and realised what I'd done. No, she needed to decide for herself. “But Novalie and Emerson miss you.” She flinched at the sound of their names and pulled away from me before noisily dragging back a stool from the bar and sitting down. I snorted as she went right back to ignoring me. “I never pegged you for a coward.” She didn't respond, but I didn't miss the tightening of her shoulders and the clench of her jaw. “Making Emerson into one of us and then abandoning her... Well, that's cold, even for you, Nora.” I moved closer, brushing her long hair away from her neck and tucking it over one shoulder as I murmured into her ear, “Or is it something else at Ashvale that you're hiding from?”

She stiffened and I knew if I pushed her far enough, we’d get what we both needed: me, a fix, and her, an excuse. “You don't know what you're talking about,” she snapped, lips curling to show off her fangs, but I could feel what she felt and even the smallest mention of Rowan set off a bomb of emotions within her. Anger, guilt, confusion, rage, all in an endless spiral.

“No? Why don't you tell me then?” I let my mouth twitch, deliberately mocking her and welcoming the slam of her body as she lunged at me. We collided, the force of her movement sending me flying onto the bar where she pinned me down with her thighs over my hips. She was breathing hard, despite not needing breath, and her eyes glittered with challenge as she looked down at me like an avenging goddess exacting her wrath.

---