Page 22 of Obsession

Ren swore she could feel the blood receding away from her flesh and back to the heart. It came with a maddening itch that made her want to tear her skin off as the wounds scabbed over in seconds, dried out and were replaced with fresh skin within moments.

All in all the process may have lasted a minute, but the anguish had felt like an eternity.

The scent of aged books and fine wines no longer comforted her. Instead they overwhelmed her heightened senses while also serving as a reminder of her situation. She could hear scratches of the rodents within the walls. Low murmurs of growling deep in the catacombs vibrated gently in her ear drum.

The world would age and decay while she had now become immortal, doomed to feel the ache of every blow of life while never succumbing to it. Her heart beat loud in her chest as the realizations and the enhanced awareness spiked her adrenalinelevels, it was a persistent hammering that echoed the urgency of her predicament.

“What have I done?”

Twenty-Three

Aflame ignited within Ren. Her feelings of betrayal turned into a burning desire for freedom. She still had feelings for Callum, but how could he be so calloused and careless when she needed him most?

She began to secretly explore the mansion, mapping out hidden corridors and seeking potential escape routes. Literally drawing them in little arrows on the floor with a piece of coal from the fireplace. Marking the pathways she had taken was easy enough to do without being seen.

Her memories of having done this before seem distant, so much that she could never remember the exact routes she had taken before. Still, she pushed on and drew arrows into corridors, and crossed them with a circle and slash when she returned to that starting point with no way out.

The ancient walls, cold and unyielding under her fingertips, were filled with pain and secrets waiting to be uncovered. The house kept its secrets well though.

She now had strength and senses previously outside her human nature, and she had every intent to use them to resolve her predicament. She could see things in a new light, and it was the light of a blackened flame.

Even the shadows emanated heat in the coldness of the reality that she was no longer fully human.

Though she wondered, would she be able to step out into the daylight ever again? It seemed like it had already been such a long time since she was outside, much less outside in the warmth of the daylight.

She couldn’t find satisfaction in the delicacies of decadence that she once enjoyed at the large banquet table with the brothers. Her sense of smell and taste was changed somehow with those few sips of blood that bound her to this new way of life. Bound her to these enigmatic men.

Her new reality—new world—was of blood and ever present oppressive night. But if darkness was to be her one and only ally, then she would learn to navigate it.

Ren discovered a hidden room filled with ancient artifacts and texts that hinted at the brothers' long history. Each object told a story of power, pain, and rebellion, fueling Ren's resolve. The taste of hope mixed with fear, an intoxicating cocktail that steeled her determination. She found out the most about Callum, since it was his mind that orchestrated her capture and imprisonment as a slave to the brothers. She wanted him to pay for the life he had forced her into.

Her best idea was to seduce the last of the brothers.

Grayson, the one who would stand stoically and silently. He always watched her with a keen eye, but never let on that he had any lustful thoughts for her. She knew that he wanted her though, she could feel it within her now…now that they were bound to one another.

She didn’t have his cunning intellect and millenia of experience, but she knew what made men tick. Try as he may to be a man of schemes and subterfuge, no woman could miss the twinkle of need in the eyes of a man who wanted her.

Grayson wasn’t as obvious as his brothers, but the flicker of desire was there enough for her to exploit with her feminine wiles.

When Ren finally found herself alone with Grayson—under the orders of Bastian—he had been assigned to keep an eye on her and she fully intended to make it so that his eyes were not the only thing on her.

She would have her way with him. His hands, lips, and tongue would give her the pleasure she wanted, and ease the pain of choosing all of them over just Callum.

Ren wanted to make sure that Grayson made the first move, that he would have his way with her of his own accord. Then there would be no doubt in his mind that she was his, literally bound by blood and sex…and revenge.

Twenty-Four

“Grayson?” Ren spoke quietly.

He answered by simply looking in her direction. She was perched on the arm of the chair at the head of the table. The dining room was empty save for the two of them. The large heavy mahogany table had only a runner down the center and a large centerpiece candelabra which still held lit candles.

“Do you think that Bastian will ever trust me again?” She questioned with a puzzled look on her face.

“Unlikely.” His one word response was accompanied by a bump of one shoulder in the air. A half hearted shrug at best.

“What have I done?” Ren began to cry. She covered her face with her hands and the tears flowed freely.

“You’ve done what every other woman in his history has done. Choose another over him.” Grayson spoke matter of factly.

---