Page 48 of His True Beloved

“I don’t need to hear that,” I interrupted. “I’m here to take care of Christine now, she’s mine, and I’ll never let her hurt again. Tell me this shit about him being a damn incubus.” My eyes brimmed with bloody tears. Not from sadness, but such anger. Extreme sorrow or sadness can bring on a vampire’s blood tears, and sometimes extreme anger or emotion.

Justin gulped, bending his knees, bowing his head. Not common in today’s vampire submission actions, his parents taught him well.

“He turned into his demon form in front of her in the dream. She was confused. He tried to tell her what he was, but she woke up seeing your face.” I let out a breath, my crisp white shirt now stained with blood.

“Anything else?” Justin shook his head. We both knew this was bad if an incubus was after her. They were few and far between, only coming to Earth to do the bidding of witches and warlocks for curses. This incubus was freed and never sent back to the Underworld.

Big fucking mistake on the part of the magical being.

“Where is Christine?” I asked again, my neck rolling side to side. The pops in my spine gave me pinches in my nerves, hoping it would dull the pain of my heart being so far from my beloved.

“That”—Justin looked away from me—“might be difficult to say.” Growling lowly, I approached as he winced.

“Tell me.”

“Vanessa is still transitioning. Her blood lust has been bad. She has a hard time feeding, so it’s taking longer for her to adjust, and Chrissy was adamant about seeing her. So I coated her in yellowcress root.” He turned his head, ready for the blow I was about to give him.

Yellowcress root was found in Bergarian. It held properties to mess up supernatural noses and have humans go undetected. How he got it to Earth, I wasn’t sure. Before I turned on my heel, I grabbed a nearby paper and pen, writing down the number on my phone.

“Call me if you hear from her.” I groaned as my heart fluttered. The pattern had changed drastically, only alerting me that she was in a calm state somewhere.

She is safe, for now.

Damn it.

I slammed the pen down, Justin sighing with ease behind me. He thought he was helping her, and I couldn’t blame him too much for that. My job had become ten times harder because of his shit, but what was I to do?

Stepping out the door, the small crowd of vampires and humans had escalated. Many whispered about what I was doing inside the house of another vampire and his newly changed mate. It was obscure and unusual for a vampire to invade a personal home during this time, and now I have become the center of attention.

The blood-flowing tears dripping on my shirt had everyone back away. I was a vampire in a rage. I couldn’t control the emotions that could be brought with the bond that was being stretched so thin. As people backed away, giving me ample room to manipulate my path, Suron handed off a child and approached me from afar.

The skip in his step was undeterred, even when seeing my tense body stride over to the coven house. “Why the long face?” Other vampires winced, scattering so they didn’t have to witness the bloodshed that was about to occur for provoking an angered member.

“Not now.” I growled, heading up the steps of the coven house. My mission was to change, get some of my anger under control, and find her. My hand reached my pocket, continuing to dial her number over and over, only to contact voice mail. Finally, after the seemingly fiftieth text message, Suron ripped it out of my hand, who had quietly followed me into my room.

“Give it back,” I snapped. He pulled away, putting the phone in his pocket. I snarled, reaching for it. My chest continued to weep with crimson drops, and he shook his head.

“Let’s get you under control first.” His voice went soft, putting his hands on my arms. I had rolled up the white shirt exposing my skin, and for a reason unknown to me, my body calmed, my body felt like jelly. “I have a touch compulsion to calm,” he murmured. “It isn’t well known around the coven, but the way you are questioning how your emotions can almost do a 180, I’m sure you were wondering what I was doing.”

I had become subdued, and the blood was drying. “Now, I’m sure this has something to do with Chrissy, and since she is not inside the coven territory, you are freaking out.” My nails that had yet to be pulled back into my body scraped across my pants.

“Do you know where she is?” I tried to remain steady as he lifted his hands from me, walked to the bathroom, and returned with a black washcloth. White cloths and clothes were almost taboo. Blood stained everything, and instead of spending all our time washing, we tried to wear dark clothes to conceal any mishaps.

“She took off in the black Maserati, heading to town. I didn’t stop her since she is supposed to be under your watch.” He winced at his words, whispering a “Sorry” before continuing. “She seemed upset, not in a mood to talk to me,” he drawled.

“Yet when I’m upset, you come to talk to me?” I cocked a brow, and he chortled. “Well, instead of being Chrissy’s keeper, I’m now yours. Elder Rowan said your emotions were all over the place when he watched you from afar, and you holding back on the claiming can do that. He’s seen it many times.” I huffed in response, rising from the bed to get dressed.

I didn’t care if Suron saw my ass naked. My mind was on my beloved. “Right, so when do you want to leave?” He took the darkened towel and began to rinse the blood out of it in the sink before promptly throwing it in the laundry shoot.

“You aren’t coming,” I stated, walking to the door, now wearing a completely black three-piece suit. I didn’t care that the humans or the vampires of Earth thought I was overdressed, this was the way we dressed back in Bergarian, and I wasn’t about to change my ways for a bunch of uncultured swine.

I had to take out a loan with the coven, but it was necessary. I had more than enough funds buried back home to pay Rowan back, and I very well intend to. I wasn’t some young moocher, as many would say.

The chain holding the pocket watch that Elder Rowan had lent me reached three p.m. More time was wasted sitting in my large apartment instead of hunting for her. I growled out once more in frustration until Suron put his hand on my shoulder.

“Strength in numbers, this isn’t Bergarian. Vampires have learned to help one another here, especially in Black Raven.” His eyes softened. “There are some positives to Earth, and I hope to show you that.”

At first, Suron seemed like the airheaded vampire that took everything in stride with a happy face. Now, he had matured in just a fraction of days since I’d known him. This was the side I needed, not the overly crazy he had been.

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