Mine, Bitten

Chapter Forty-Two

Lily

             "I am Seve." The vampire said gently and Lily could do no more than stare unwarily at the hand leveled before her and then feeling a bravado sweep over her, she raised her chin and met those blue eyes determinedly.

            He took note of her sudden courage and smirked a little, "Willful." He said.

            She raised a brow and said undauntedly, "If there is something I have learned from my father who has fooled me one too many times, it's to not trust a stranger."

            His blue eyes sparked with a smidge of admiration, "Wise of you." His eyes shifted to Varian who stood motionless and expressionless at her side. "What of your mate? Do you trust him?"

            "Yes." She exclaimed without the slightest hesitation.

            His mouth twitched with a hidden grin, "What if I were to tell you that he was sent to kill you? Would that alter your trust in him?"

            Her eyes wavered with a flickering of doubt.

            Seve clasped his hands before him and eyed her a little more intently, "Varian is the assassin of our people. He destroys vampires turned rogue and protects our clan. He is not meant to have a mate, for with a mate comes feelings that cannot get in the way of his purpose."

            "That purpose being?" she asked, sensing Varian's tense frame beside her.

            "Solely to kill, of course." he grinned, revealing his fangs, "He is Demise as some of us would call him." He tilted his head as he examined her a little more closely, "When I learned of your existence you can understand why I was against my assassin finding a mate?"

            "So you sent him to kill me as a cruel twist of fate?"

            Seve raised his chin, his resolve hardening some, "It was a test deemed necessary. I had to ensure that even a potential mate could not prevent him from his sole purpose as the Death Dealer of our clan." He paused, studying them immensely, "As fate would have it, he failed miserably." he smirked and stepped away from them, moving several steps aside, his eyes sweeping the now empty room. "I cannot fault him of course we vampires live a long time, why live an eternity lonely?"

            Lily felt Varian shift beside her; she peered over at him and was startled to see a look of surprise etched deeply onto his face.

            She turned back to Seve, "Are you going to kill me now?"

            Those blue eyes hastened to her face as he stilled beneath the dim lighting of the room, "Heavens no."

            She frowned, almost stunned, "Why?"

            He raised a brow, his mouth pulling into that passably charming grin, "Why?" he mirrored her response, "I dare say, I've drank from many a throats and not once have I heard such a word escape them."

            "What I meant was, why now, what has changed that you've decided to not kill me?"

            He chuckled so loudly that it resounded sharply in the hollow, musky room. "Isn't the answer obvious, aside from your literal change from a human to a vampire-" he paused, stepping back toward her, "-you are the miracle my clan has waited centuries for."

            Her brows pulled together in sheer confusion. She glanced from Varian to Seve, unsure but noting a silent understanding among the two, "What do you mean?"