His touch was magical, and the sensation was out of this world. I was just smiling wide as I stared at our hands clasped together like newlywed couples.
"Ask me anything, my love." He muttered, and my heart skipped a beat at the sound of him calling me his love. I felt more loved and protected than I had ever felt since I was born. All my past suffering and pain vanished from my memory, and I felt like a queen. The inborn royalty, which had been suppressed for years, returned.
I could feel my aura and noble essences oozing through my skin and spreading around me. The smile that formed on Dracula's face at that moment made me realize he had felt it too.
"I hate everyone who hurt you, and with your permission, I will make them pay dearly for everything they did to you. Before then, I want to be open to you. There should be no secrets between us—just two lovers who know each other's hidden pasts and secrets. Not sure if I know how to love, but I am ready to learn so I can give you the best that you deserve." He cooed, his eyes shimmering with a lot of emotion.
"So you are in an interrogation. Sit tight." I deadpanned, giggling while he laughed hard, adjusting his position on the chair and placing both hands on his lap.
His eyes were all over me, filled with admiration and desire. He was gazing at me like I was some kind of fantasy playing right before his eyes.
"Why did you come here as a teacher? What prompted the Lycan prince to stoop so low as to be a mere teacher, change his name, and act like a nobody? When did you change your mind not to kill me after hearing that I was a demon." I began, and he cleared his throat, smiling cheesily.
"The moment I stepped away from that pack, I realized it was all lies. I found myself struggling to believe what they said, but every attempt was useless as I kept thinking about you. I kept thinking about what you would be going through. My heart was sure you were the one for me, and all those stories about you being a demon from Laura were all framed. I can't explain it, but I knew it was a lie."
"When the flute was blown, why didn't you come in and save me? You allowed them to mark me as a slave, and I was tortured, beaten, and mistreated terribly. Yet you didn't show up or make any attempt to save me. I hoped in you and didn't take my life, but you vanished." My voice was cracking this time.
It was just replaying in my head the sort of heartbreak and intense pain of betrayal I had felt back then. He really abandoned me.
"I didn't abandon you. I was fighting with my demons. Day and night, I ask myself what I intend to do with you in the future. I ask myself why I am falling deeply in love with you against my wishes. I didn't want you dead, but I knew I would still kill you. I was lurking around but couldn't show up or save you because I was scared every time I faced you, knowing that I would have to slay you in a few weeks..." He paused and took a deep breath, looking away sadly.
"What is your plan now?" I asked, and he turned back to me with a bright smile.
"I finally realized the best decision for my curse, which was the ultimate solution! That was why I returned to meet you. The decision is to end my life with yours!" He squealed like a small child who just saw his mother bring his favorite lollipop.
His eyes were glistening with pure excitement, and I could only stare in shock, wondering if I heard him right. Maybe my ears had deceived me, I reasoned, because it was difficult to believe he would say such a thing with such joy.
It was unbelievable that he even called it the solution to his curse. Who was I to make the Lycan prince kill himself? I wasn't the first mate he had had.
"Dracula, do you know what you're saying? How will you do that? You are the Lycan prince and heir of the great Lycan kingdom, you still know that?" I almost shouted but remembered we were in the restaurant.
"And you are the Alpha's daughter. A heir too. The next to rule the Red Moon Pack. We are all human, and I can't keep being selfish. You die, I follow suit. It becomes even, and that's the end. That's the best solution I've ever come up with!" He smiled happily without feeling tense. It was as if he had made up his mind a long time ago.
"I don't think I am worthy of this sacrifice. You don't have to do this for me. After my death, live your life. I believe the cure for the curse will be found very soon, and you will start a new and normal life. Don't end it all for me." I moaned, tears warming up in my eyes because the affection was more than I ever expected. It was way more than I had ever imagined for myself. This was just too much for a rejected soul like me.
"After your death, my life will be meaningless, and not even the cure will give me any happiness or peace. If the cure isn't found while you are still alive, then it is useless. Ella, I think I am deeply in love with you and your entire being. Your hands and the way they hold mine. Your pretty eyes and the way they look at me. Just everything about you is a blessing in my life." He purred, his voice gentle, soothing, and heartwarming.
I exhaled a mouthful of air and began to fan my face with my palm, blinking my eyes that were pouring down tears freely. The truth in his words was so real that I could feel it deep inside me.
"Dracula, I love you too. I really love you with all my heart!" I screamed in a loud voice, not minding where I was or the attention I drew to us. I didn't care at that moment. My heart is throbbing, and butterflies are swarming all over my stomach.
The waiter arrived at that moment with three flasks that contained different kinds of dishes. I was astounded when I opened it and saw the delicious food he had packed inside.
In a few minutes, our table was also filled with different kinds of foods—meat, fish, and drinks—the appetizing aroma making my stomach grumble in crave as I almost drooled.
"Let's enjoy! They are my best, and I am sure they are yours too because we are one." He winked and began to eat. I joined him immediately, grinning from ear to ear.
There was no student in and out side the restaurant as it was already break over. He had taken me out of the class when it was lecture time, something that is punishable, but who would punish me when I am with him?
A poor girl like me had been blessed by such a mate. I'm not sure what I did specifically to win his heart. I really captured his heart with love in an unimaginable way—he was ready to die with me. This is completely unbelievable.
Am I so beautiful or what? What made me unique? Other mates had gone, and when it reached my turn, he was going to die with me...
"What is special about me? You had other mates in the past. Why...."
"Everything. I promised myself I would never fall in love again, but my heart never listened. You made me feel human again. You came into my life when I thought everything was against me. The word "love" or "mate" was a terror that taunted and haunted me horribly, but you changed all that. The first time I hit you, I felt a sharp pain in my heart like never before. I couldn't bear to stay without you; that's why I ordered you to show me the garden back then. I'm not sure what you did to me." He breathed and laughed quietly.
"Dracula, thank you so much. So when will you kiss me?" I pouted, and he burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Now, if you wish. How did you read my mind? I've been dreaming of how those lips would taste. I've been wondering if you'd permit me to fit them into mine." He chuckled, licking his lips as he leered at mine.
I rolled my eyes playfully and faced my food.
"Keep dreaming till you get the courage to do it in front of the classroom." I told him jokingly, but he didn't take it that way.
"After eating... I will take you back and...."
"Do what?! No, no, no! I was kidding!" I exclaimed, but he shook his head in disagreement and told me he must do it. I didn't insist. I was the jealous and selfish type who wanted him all to myself. It will be great to kiss him in front of everyone!
"Deal..." I mouthed and blew a kiss to him, which made his cheeks turn bright red as he blushed and left me amazed. I didn't expect that at all. I made him blush for real!
After some time, we were done eating to our stomach full. The leftovers were taken away, and I failed to hold back my belch as the satisfaction from the rich food was out of this world. I haven't eaten such food in my life.
We were silent for some time, looking at each other with faces full of smiles.
"You have a radiant smile." He broke the silence.
"You have a charming one. It gets me lost." I responded, and another silence set in.
Just then, a female junior scurried into the restaurant and headed over to where we were seated.
"Sir, I apologize for disturbing you, but the proprietor directed me to summon you to his office. He said you have to come quickly as you have a letter from your father." She reported with a short bow and rushed back out the door, while Dracula sat motionless, his face puzzled and anxious.
He seemed perturbed, as if he already knew what would be in the letter. There was this fear written all over his face.
"Why do you seem afraid? You don't know what is written there yet, and you already seem disturbed and frightened. Were you expecting a bad...."
I couldn't finish what I was saying before he drew the chair back and slid out of it.
"6532. That's my pin. Pay and go back to your class, okay?" That was the only thing he could say as he dropped the card on the table and hurried out of the restaurant frantically, as if he sensed an impending danger.