Nefarious

C93 - Alex's coldness

I was shocked that Zane, one of Alex's most trusted helpers, was the one who bit my neck. This whole time I've been suspecting Jace of using me for his own good, but he hasn't. "Does Alex know it was Zane?" I asked. "No, and he can't know," Jace answered. "Why? he's dangerous," I frowned in confusion. "He's also Xavier's brother." Ah, right, it would get in the way of their relationship. "Why are you still wearing Alex's scarf?" Jace asked. "To hide your secret. I don't have a decent lie to other humans on how I got these bite marks on my neck," I responded. He looked a bit surprised at my answer, but he didn't say anything. "I uh-" I started. "Xavier is here," Jace cut me off.

"Thank the Devil, you're all right," Xavier said, moving towards us. He put his arms out, and yes, this was the awkward moment where I had no clue who he was talking to. He brought them around Jace, which is understandable. Jace whispered something to Xavier when hugging him and it made Xavier's facial expression change. "You promised," Xavier whispered, almost angrily. "I didn't kill Nikkie, it was someone else," Jace whispered back. My eyes widened immediately, Jace killed someone? I finally felt somewhat safe around Jace during his calmness, but now that he might have killed someone... that safety disappeared instantly. I felt a sickening feeling in my stomach, leaving me with the urge to throw up any second. "Can we leave?" I asked.

Thankfully, Jace agreed to leave so we got back home in no time. He drove a bit too fast, but I was completely okay with that. I just needed to see Alex again after this crazy night. The door to the castle went up, slowly, allowing Zane to come to view. Automatically, I backed away till I hit Jace. "Don't act suspicious, geez," Jace whispered. He pushed me past Zane, but I couldn't avoid noticing Zane's death glare. "Where's Alex?" I asked. "Right here," Alex said, turning me around. "Can you please stay with me tonight? I'm tired of us splitting up," I sighed. He slightly smiled, nodding in agreement.

I was in a confusing mood at the moment. Not only did I still feel sick, but I was also frustrated with all the unanswered questions. Additionally, I was tired and exhausted from stressing all night. I moved Alex's duvet over me in hope to get some warmth to my freezing body. My tired eyes rested on Alex who was changing his clothes once again. "You look very tired, you even have dark circles under your eyes," Alex said, his back facing me. "I am, but I'm afraid that you'll leave the room the second I close my eyes," I answered. He let go of the shirt he was holding in his hands, letting out a small sigh. "You're afraid of getting bitten again," he lowered his voice. I didn't answer, but he was right. He turned around slowly, still not picking up the shirt he'd dropped on the floor. After looking over at me for some seconds, he walked over the creaking wooden floor to lock his door. Each and every lock he made sure was completely locked before he lay down beside me. I was increasingly getting tired, struggling to keep my eyes open and my focus clear. A sudden feeling of coldness spread over my chin, his hand. "I'm not leaving, Valerie," he reassured me.

Surprisingly enough, I found Alex sleeping next to me when waking up. I groaned, trying to get up. His arm dragged me back down which shocked me since I obviously thought he was asleep. "When saying I wasn't leaving you, I hoped you meant the same," he mumbled. "Your hair makes it look like a sloth grew on top of your head," I chuckled. "Charming," he cleared his throat. "I would love to stay, but I have stuff to do since I went to bed without removing my makeup and all that," I said. "Mhm," he murmured, letting go of my arm. Well, that was easy?

After finally feeling satisfied with how my hair turned out, Alex decided to fuck it up. He ran his hand through my hair, making it messier than ever. I had dry shampoo in it, something which made it stay just the way Alex 'styled' it. My jaw dropped at the sight of my hair, now it was looking much worse than Alex's. "Maybe the sloth moved to your head," he shrugged his shoulders. "You're such a-" I started. "Lovely boyfriend, mhm, I know," he interrupted me. "I'll have to shower now, thanks," I said sarcastically. "You're welcome."

I don't quite understand Alex's sudden coldness? I mean, I've never reacted to his touch before. It has always been warm, that I'm sure of. I could see the hairs on my arms raising right after he'd touched me with his cold fingers. Apparently, he noticed it too. He left the bathroom for some minutes. I assumed he was gonna pick up some clothes, but he came back with his black gloves. "You won't react to these," he said, pulling them over his hands. "You don't need to cover your hands, Alex," I exhaled. He looked at me through the mirror, nodding twice. "Get dressed, I have something to show you," he said, leaving the bathroom once again.

When returning to Alex's bedroom, I saw him standing there with his journal in his hands. "There are pages in this I don't want you to see, but there's one I will let you see," he said, looking for the page he was talking about. "Are you sure you want me to read it?" I asked. He handed over the open book as a sign that I could read it. "This is from the morning I left you for two months," he told me. I looked down at the page, seeing a paragraph written in beautiful cursive letters - Alex's handwriting. I took a deep breath before reading what the paragraph said: "When I woke up today, I could feel it. My blood was rushing through my veins so loudly to me that I feared I would wake you up. Of course, you couldn't hear it, but I could. I wasn't meant to be Alex for this long, not without exploring Alexander. Even though I didn't feel ready for such to happen, I acted on my adrenaline and recklessness  It wasn't Jace who made me go back home, it was Alexander. That strange morning I could feel my fangs growing, my muscles tensing up, sickness from hunger taunted me, and last but not least my lust for blood increased. It was too much of a risk to stay with a person with a scent like yours. Therefore, I left you, Valerie. You weren't ready to hear the truth, you probably never will, but one day you have to." "And when comes that truth?" I asked, closing the book. "Some of it comes now," he answered, taking the book from me. I sat down on his bed, waiting for him to continue with whatever he was about to tell me.

He spent some time thinking, probably struggling to figure out a way to formulate it. "I'm sure you've noticed some changes from when we stayed at your house versus when staying at mine. I've been more absent, secluded and silent than usual. In addition, I've been icy cold for a while now. Those changes are pretty obvious, but one that isn't... is your sudden lack of wounds. When dating me through all these years you've always questioned small wounds showing up at random places, but you never went to the doctors, why?" he looked over at me. "I guess because they were so small, I thought they were trifles," I shrugged my shoulders. He bit his lip, still looking at me. "I caused them," he told me directly. "Jace told me you did this," I stammered, pulling up my sleeve. He looked down at my wounds, closing his mouth completely. "Alex?" I narrowed my eyebrows. "Connect what I said," he said, looking expressionless. I was unsure what he meant by that so I sat with a frown forming on my face. "I'm cold because I'm not taking your blood anymore."