Memories from the Past

Chapter Fifteen

Everything was so clear. Sharp. Defined. The brilliant light overhead was still blinding-bright, and yet I could plainly see the glowing strands of the filaments inside the bulb. I could see each colour of the rainbow in the white light, and, at the very edge of the spectrum, an eighth colour I had no name for. Behind the light, I could distinguish the individual grains in the dark wood ceiling above. In front of it, I could see the dust motes in the air, the sides the light touched, and the dark sides, distinct and separate. They spun like little planets, moving around each other in a celestial dance. The dust was so beautiful that I inhaled in shock; the air whistled down my throat, swirling the motes into a vortex. The action felt wrong. I considered, and realized the problem was that there was no relief tied to the action. I didn't need the air. My lungs weren't waiting for it. They reacted indifferently to the influx. I did not need the air, but I liked it. In it, I could taste the room around me—taste the lovely dust motes, the mix of the stagnant air mingling with the flow of slightly cooler air from the open door. Taste a lush whiff of silk. Taste a faint hint of something warm and desirable, something that should be moist, but wasn't.... That smell made my throat burn dryly, a faint echo of the venom burn, though the scent was tainted by the bite of chlorine and ammonia. And most of all, I could taste a mixture of roses, pinewood and sunshine scent that was the strongest thing, the closest thing to me.
I also heard a faint, thudding rhythm, with a voice shouting angrily to the beat. Rock music? I was mystified for a moment, and then the sound faded away like a car passing by with the windows rolled down. With a start, I realized that this could be exactly right. Could I hear all the way to the freeway? I didn't realize someone was holding my hand until whoever it was squeezed it lightly. Like it had before to hide the pain, my body locked down again in surprise. This was not a touch I expected. The skin was perfectly smooth, but it was the wrong temperature. Not cold. After that first frozen second of shock, my body responded to the unfamiliar touch in a way that shocked me even more. Air hissed up my throat, spitting through my clenched teeth with a low, menacing sound like a swarm of bees. Before the sound was out, my muscles bunched and arched, twisting away from the unknown. I flipped off my back in a spin so fast it should have turned the room into an incomprehensible blur—but it did not. I saw every dust mote, every splinter in the marble walls, every loose thread in microscopic detail as my eyes whirled past them. So by the time I found myself crouched against the wall defensively—about a sixteenth of a second later—I already understood what had startled me, and that I had overreacted. Oh. Of course. Caius and Dora wouldn't feel cold to me. We were the same temperature now. I held my pose for an eighth of a second longer, adjusting to the scene before me. Caius and Dora stood up from the bed, carefully eyeing my every movement. A feeling in my chest fell down and my inner beast purred. In an instant I had crossed the room and had wrapped my arms tightly around my mates, inhaling their sweet scents and purring as a reaction to them being near me. They answered my embrace by wrapping their arms around me and purring along with me.
Soon heavy footsteps could be heard and a frantic heartbeat that followed. The sweet scent hit my nose along with a fierce burning in my throat. Before my mates could hold me back I dashed towards it. It was a human man that spread the sweet scent. Fear in his eyes as he tried desperately to find an exit. But none he will find as I tackled him down. My teeth unerringly sought his throat, and his instinctive resistance was pitifully feeble against my strength. My jaws locked easily over the precise point where the heat flow concentrated. It was effortless as biting into butter. My teeth were steel razors; they cut through the skin and flesh, letting the sweet ambrosia flow down my wet. The blood was hot and wet and it soothed the ragged, itching thirst as I drank in an eager rush. The man's struggles grew more and more feeble, and his screams choked off with a gurgle. The warmth of the blood radiated throughout my whole body, heating even my fingertips and toes. The man was finished before I was. The thirst flared again when he ran dry, and I shoved his carcass off my body in disgust. I wanted more. Caius and Dora had followed me and soon a lower guard I didn't recognise came into our chambers.
"Master, Mistress, I appologi-" but before the vampire could finish his sentence I had already tackled him. I saw him as a threat to me and my mates. He had to be dealt with. I ripped his arms and head off with my newfound strength while growling and hissing the entire time. As soon as the vampire was dealt with I rushed back to my mates, needing to make sure they were not harmed. Dora smiled and pulled my head against her chest, purring soothingly while stroking my hair.
"It is alright, my love." She purred in my ear. Caius was about to move towards the lower guard but I grabbed his arm, stopping him. I wanted him close to me, so I can be assured he is safe. Caius' harsh look softened almost immediately as he moved to stand behind me, holding me close to his chest, purring in my ear.
"You have nothing to fear, my love. We are here." He purred while gently stroking my hips.

Caius and Athenodora shared a look. Xandria's instincts had completely taken over and they knew the only way to help her ease into this life was to cocoon with her for a while. She had to control her inner beast so that her secondary emotions could return. But in their own selfish thoughts they were very content. Their mate was now an immortal, the mating bond had fallen into place completely and nothing would ever separate the three of them again. They would rule alongside Aro, Marcus and Sulpicia. But most of all, they will have all eternity to love one another, to cherish and to hold.
As the memories from the past had faded from Xandia's mind, the future would be the only thing on her horizon. A future with her mates filled with love.