Page 24 of Resurrecting His Soul
“I didn’t kill him,” Melina snarled. “In fact,” she smirked, “I believe I left him perfectly satiated. He didn’t seem to mind the few bites I left on his flesh. In fact, I think they made him come harder.”
Lisandra narrowed her eyes at the blood-soaked vampire. “I don’t believe anything that comes out of your foul mouth.”
Melina moved towards her, but she didn’t have time to react. Ricardo moved down the hall and between the two of them so fast he seemed to appear out of nowhere. He pinned Melina against the wall and bared his fangs in her face. Lisandra was learning that different emotions had their own scents, and Ricardo’s anger was palpable.
“Don’t touch her,” he growled through clenched teeth.
Melina held her hands up. “I wasn’t going to touch your pet. Calm yourself. Anyway, she’s the one who attacked me.”
Lisandra crossed her arms, prepared to stand her ground, but she didn’t have to. Ricardo’s eyes dropped down to the blood on Melina’s dress. “Yes, she did, and from the looks of your attire she had every right to assume the worst. I believe I made myself clear when I instructed you not to kill.”
“And I didn’t kill anyone,” Melina bit out. “A little O.J. and some time in the sun and he’ll be just fine.”
Ricardo slammed his hand against the wall next to Melina. “You weren’t supposed to attack anyone, period!”
Lisandra had to admit he was intimidating. If she had been in Melina’s shoes she would be shaking in fear. Instead, Melina just laughed.
“I highly doubt he’d say I attacked him.”
The growl that came from Ricardo made Lisandra jump, and for a second, fear flashed across Melina’s face, but she quickly covered it up. “Dammit, Melina. This isn’t a joke. We have spent too much time acting like monsters.”
Melina pushed against Ricardo’s chest, but he didn’t budge. “We’re superior to them, Ricardo! You’re the one who taught me that. Now, suddenly you want to impress your little plaything.” She waved towards Lisandra. “I’m not going to pretend with you. There is a hierarchy to life and as vampires we’re at the top of the chain for a reason.”
Lisandra growled with her teeth descended and crouched, ready to fight. “I knew she wasn’t going to try to change. She enjoys being a monster.”
Melina looked around Ricardo and ran her eyes up and down Lisandra like she was beneath her. “We’re all monsters, baby vampire. Some of us just aren’t afraid to embrace our true nature.” She let her canines descend too. “We don’t have these just so we can drink blood from a bag.”
Lisandra moved to grab Melina, but Ricardo blocked her without taking his eyes off Melina and wrapped his hand around Melina’s neck. Melina’s eyes bugged out, and Lisandra knew Ricardo wasn’t going to stop on his own, and she couldn’t be responsible for him killing his first progeny. She gripped his shoulder and tugged on it. He pulled away from her at first, but she did it again and moved in closer.
“Ricardo. She’s not worth it.”
It took a moment, but he finally turned his head to look at her, then his grip on Melina loosened.
They stared at each other for a moment before Ricardo turned his eyes back to Melina. “I think you need to take some time to decide if you want to remain here with us or if it’s time for you to move on,” Ricardo said to Melina.
Melina’s eyes grew wide, and Lisandra smirked. “What are you saying?”
Ricardo sighed. “You need to find somewhere else to stay until you decide if you want to be a part of this family, or if you want to feed from people.”
“Family?” Melina’s eyebrows shot to the sky. “You’ve got to be joking.”
He looked back at Lisandra and her un-beating heart did that weird thing again where it skipped a beat despite its lack of movement inside her chest.
“Yes,” he said. “We are going to be a family here.” He looked back at Melina. “And I hoped you’d be a part of our mixed-up family, but that is up to you. Now, I think it’s time for you to go. You’ve got some decisions you need to make.”
Melina glared at Lisandra, and it was all she could do not to laugh while Melina walked past her towards the front door. Lisandra knew there was no way Melina would give up feeding from humans or killing them for that matter. The evil was practically a physical aura around Melina that she could see and smell. No doubt she would lie and try to convince Ricardo she was going to change, just like she’d been doing so far, but hopefully this was a sign he was beginning to see who Melina really was.
Ricardo didn’t turn back around until they heard the front door close behind Melina as she left. Lisandra was surprised to see that the anger that had been on his face was replaced by sadness. She closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He rested his hands on her waist and dropped his head until his forehead was touching hers and shut his eyes.
Lisandra reached up to touch his cheek. “I hate that she put you in this position,” she said. “It’s obvious you care for her, even if it isn’t in the way she wants.”
Ricardo stepped back, looked away from her, and slowly ran his hands over his face. “That’s just it. I don’t see it that way. From where I’m sitting, I am the one who put us all in this position. I turned her and taught her to be a monster. Then I drove the two of us to that fair where I was just as keen on killing everyone there as her, only I changed my mind because something about you woke up a part of me I’d missed for a very long time.”
“It doesn’t help she’s in love with you,” she said, “and she is so jealous it just makes her more unhinged.” He opened his mouth, no doubt to protest, but she put her finger to his lips to stop him. “I know you don’t believe she loves you, but I think that is because you have been so closed off to the idea of love you were too blind to see her feelings for you. Unfortunately, her love comes with a side of crazy that makes it dangerous instead of good.”
Ricardo pulled her in for a hug. “I hope you’re wrong, but I would be a fool if I kept ignoring her outbursts.”
Leaning up on her tip toes, Lisandra gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Thank you for standing up to her for me. I know that wasn’t easy.”
