Page 6 of Crimson Mourning

MICHELLE

No amount of toothpaste or mouthwash would remove the taste from my tongue, and still, I brushed. Vigorous and with fervor. Being a familiar meant bowing to the whims of my masters on the hopes they would one day deem me worthy enough to join the elite and become a vampire. But Dregan and Eldon were not my masters, at least I didn’t swear allegiance to them. They were vampire which meant they were arrogant enough to believe they could do whatever they wished. To them, I was a mere plaything. Something to toy with and discard as they saw fit. But, I was still me. I was human, and they were wrong. I would see them dead for this.

If only I were vampire already, I would rip their cowardly spines from their backs and watch as their useless bodies twitched. And they were cowardly for what they did. Had Damon been there, they would have never dared to lay their filthy hands upon my body the way they did. They were vampire, but they were men. And as flames swelled within me, I promised myself that even if it cost me my life, no man would ever lay hands upon me in such a way again.

But the thought of Damon's hands ravaging my body softened my stance. Damon was different. He was a man of class and dignity, and a vampire capable of love unlike any from his kind before. He married a human against all odds. It spoke volumes. No, Damon was one-of-a-kind. Cassie didn’t deserve him. He was a protector of his clan, and a unifier of men. I found myself rubbing my legs together as thoughts of him continued to flood my mind.

If Cassie were gone, how long would he mourn her before he turned to another? Would he seek comfort in the arms of a woman he could trust? Would he see me for who I truly was? A loving, devoted, worthy lover?

There was only one way to find out. I rose from the seat of my vanity, and began to make plans. We were not the best of friends, but I knew Cassie, and she knew me. Why should she escape the life of a familiar and skip to the front of the line? No matter the debt, life has a way of making sure it gets paid.

CHAPTER SEVEN

CASSIE

There's an ancient saying, "if at first, you don’t succeed." The rest of it escaped my memory, but I got the gist. The lesson was applicable here. My original plan was not going to work, so I had to change things up. Damon was hell-bent on not taking me to Crimson’s, but there was another arrow I had in my quiver. Begging.

“But baaabbbyyyy,” I cooed into his ear. “Can’t we try something different?”

“I said no! And my word stands!” Damon snapped back as he sunk his teeth into my flesh.

The feeling of his teeth as they pierced my skin was an aphrodisiac for me. The life force sucked from my very essence drop by titillating drop was an immense feeling. Did it sound weird that I would be turned on by the thought of dying? Absolutely, but knowing I could be on the brink of death at any moment always sent my system into overload. Part of me wanted something more. Something my husband refused to give me.

I wanted to join the elite, but damn him if my husband wouldn’t do it. He wanted me pure, untouched by the virus. Untouched from his world. All I wanted was to be with himfor eternity. The thought of perishing before him never boded well with me. Damon often told me there were worse forms of torture.

He was the head of clan Shaye, and very intuitive. But, he had no clue how my mind worked.Enough is enough.

If he wouldn’t do it, then dammit, Damon would need to let someone he trusted turn me.Tonight, was the night I joined the elite, and I wasn’t backing down. Imagining a life without him made the blood in my veins curdle. For someone who called me his beloved, I couldn’t fathom why he would want to see me die. No matter how much pleasure it might bring.

He continued to draw from me, but the tingling sensation dancing on my skin diminished. I pulled away from him with the strength only a wife could have. Blood ran down my neck from the evenly spaced puncture holes, but there was no pain. There was only the moment. I could do nothing more than stare into the eyes of the man I loved with my entire being.

“Cassie?” He asked, his lips outlined in red.

“You have no idea, do you?”

“Cassie…”

“Don’t Cassie me! You really have no fucking clue!”

“Apparently, I don’t.”

“Do you evenknowwhy I want to go to Crimson’s? Do you evencare?”

“I do, but Crimson’s isn’t a place for humans. At least, not humans like you.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“You know I have enemies, Cassie. A lot of them. I am not taking the chance of you becoming separated from me. It’s too risky.”

“I wouldn’t leave your side. I would be stuck to you like glue.”

“Not a chance I’m willing to take. The stakes are too high. If someone were to join you to the elite...if someone put their vilefangs on your body, I'd slaughter everyone in the room without hesitation.”

It took a lot of money and family pull for the Council to agree to our marriage. Vampires marrying humans was forbidden. They only acquiesced because of who Damon, and his family was. I understood his concerns, but damn it, I wanted this. I needed this.

My hand had found its way to the bulge in his dress pants. I began to fondle him through the material. Settling in closer to him so he could take in my scent, my wanting, I whispered to him.

“We both can have it all, baby. You'd never have to worry about someone else if you made me elite. Change me, Damon. Change me or let someone like Lawrence do it at the club. I can stay in the clan. In your family. Make me yours forever, so you can get insidemeforever.”

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