Alex's POV
I had just made the worst promise in the world to Olivia. I promised her that I would never bother her again, but how can I promise that when I am still drawn to her nine years later? I am still attracted to her inner beauty like a moth to a flame.
Up until now, I still cannot truly tell anyone why and how she is still in my home. There is no one reason that she stays here, there are a million little ones. Olivia Maria Montgomery is one girl with a thousand hidden layers to her.
She is the most complex human, yet also the simplest. She is difficult to understand, her emotions run deep, her loyalty is true, but she asks nothing materialistic. She is unlike any other woman, vampire or human.
I sighed deeply as I walked into my room. Even my room smelt like her with her spending just a few minutes in it. I switched the CD player on and soon my calming music started playing as I poured myself some Brandy.
I sank into the plush couch I had in my room as I gulped down my fourth glass of Brandy. The conversation we just had was going through my head and while I know that she edited a lot of what she said to me, I was reading her mind.
I caught her confusion, her distress and her tumultuous emotions. Olivia was craving love. She wanted the sort of love that she could never receive because of me. Because of my own selfishness. Because I couldn't understand why I couldn't let her go.
Olivia has suffered so much because of me, because I behaved like a spoiled teenager. She lost her first kiss to me, because I stole it from her without any consideration for her. Now, thinking back on everything that she has gone through in my house that was harsh or hard on her was because of me. I had forced her to train with Henry. I was the one who caused her to have broken bones and scrapes and injuries and sore spots because Henry is one of the most brutal people there are in the world.
Year after year, she stayed and obeyed the rules of the house, but never have I ever shown her appreciation or affection. She never questioned, never demanded. She took what was given to her without a complaint and once again I was being selfish and thinking of myself.
Her first kiss! I took her first kiss and her second one. I never thought how she would perceive it. In so many ways, she was naïve and innocent. Forcing her to stay inside has only made her become weak. Perhaps, I should let her go.
I snorted. I would never do that. I could never do that. In the few months that she ran away, I turned ballistic and animalistic. I had the uncontrollable urge to go on a killing spree, however, I had more pressing concerns. One of those concerns was of course the havoc created by some rowdy and attention seeking vampires and the other, was obviously finding Olivia safe and sound.
"Alex?" Antoine called, breaking me out of my pitying thoughts.
I looked up and motioned him in. "Yes?" I said in a dead tone.
He stepped in and after followed Vasya. "We would actually like to talk to you," he continued as they stood in front of me.
I motioned for them to sit in the unused chairs. "Well, Olivia isn't happy. I get these strong feelings from her at times and I can't really describe it." Vasya was frustrated by this, which clearly alarmed me. Vasya was not well known, but those that knew him, knew that he had this uncanny precision for a person and their intentions.
"What do you mean?" I asked him, interested.
He ran his hands through his hair. "Honestly, Antoine and I can see her purity, her innocence. There is something that lies deeper in her that is more pure than anything this world has seen in five thousand years. Her soul is literally made from the purest essence." Vasya began to explain his deeper meanings and explanations based on the feelings he got from her. "However, she is mortal and that soul will either die out with her or be place into another body, whether five years from her death or a million years later. And what I say next, I don't want you to take offense, okay?" he asked me wanting an honest answer.
I let out a deep breath. All my rational thoughts flew out the window when it came to Olivia. It was since that day I saw her in the snow. She literally was a snow angel. "Fine, you have my word."
"You know that everyone believes that as vampires we are damned and that there is no such a thing as heaven for us because of our dark sins?" he asked in a weary voice.
I nodded, knowing all of this.
"Now, many might say that Olivia being with you is a crime against humanity. She is literally the purest, kindest soul there is and yet she belongs to a vampire."
I opened my mouth to protest what he said, but he and Antoine held up their hands at the same time.
"Look, no one else can really see her like we do," Antoine said. "She is safe because no one really sees past her beauty, but we all know that she belongs to you. Or else, you or someone else in this household would have killed her before she turned eighteen. Whether she realizes it or not, since the day her parents dies, she was thrust into vampire care. She is meant to be here, with you Alex. And you need to show her that. You need to prove to her that with you is where she is meant to be."
"I know how that tales go about the Queen Rose Bush, Alex," Vasya spoke up. "But there is a possibility that Olivia may not truly be the Queen of our race, but you can always make her the Queen. That is up to you, of course, but everyone knows that you two belong together. There is a reason that you haven't let her out of your sight and there is a reason why you have started using willing donors for the last six years and two of which where you have stopped bringing and using female donors. Subconsciously, you have made her your queen."
I tried to process what he said, but I was too busy craving more brandy. I poured myself a full glass and sat down. "So you are trying to say that although through Livvy the roses started growing again, it might be because the queen is truly near and not because she may be the queen?" I asked trying to piece what he said.
They nodded together.
"So basically, she is just the gardener and not my queen?" I asked again, trying to get it in a clear analogy.
"Yeah, basically. She just might be the one with the green thumb and not the one with the blue blood," Antoine said heart broken.
I looked at him puzzled. "Do you like her?" I asked in a cold tone. My blood just went cold at the thought of him even liking her.
"N-no," he stumbled. "Yes, she could be a friend, or a little sister, but I don't like her that way," he said quickly.
I snorted. Sure, of course he doesn't like her. That might be possible if he were gay, which he isn't. He was perfectly capable of wooing her and getting her to fall for him. "Tell that to someone who will believe you," I said snappily.
"You need to relax," Vasya chuckled.
I turned to him with a full glare on my face. "What?"
Vasya chuckled again. "You are practically a brother to us, why on earth would either of us chase your girl?"
I rolled my eyes. "Are you oblivious to her beauty?" I asked in a bored tone.
They both crossed their arms over their chests and stared at me with a dull look. "Obviously not," Antoine answered.
"That's my point!" I yelled and flipped over the nearest chair. "If you aren't oblivious to her beauty what stops you from convincing her to be with you?"
Vasya made a strangled sound and I looked at him. He was slowly stepping away from me, his face a mask of disgust. "We are you best friends and this is what you think of us?" he asked in a soft voice.
It was suddenly clear to me that, I had made a mistake. My jealousy and insecurity and attraction to her were costing me a lot more than it should. I was going to truly turn my closest confidants against me and then it would only have been my doing. I sank to my feet in shame and rested my head against the wall.
I looked at them with desperation. "Why? Why am I so attracted to her? I watched her grow up. I should not feel anything toward her except concern. It has always been this way, since I saw her in that snow!"
Vasya and Antoine sat on either side of me and laid sympathetic hands on my shoulders. "Look, right, you know you are completely in her hands. Everyone can see you and her are an unofficial couple. She is so stubborn, but even I can see that she only listens to you," Vasya said.
I scoffed. "She only does that because she feels indebted to me. She doesn't even look at me with any sort of emotion in her eyes," I said tonelessly.
They were about to reply when we heard Olivia's scream echo through the mansion. I got up immediately and sprinted to her room. I kicked open the door and searched the room for any sign of intrusion or anything, but there was nothing.
I looked at her bed and she was thrashing about in her bed and screaming. She was having a nightmare. I calmed down at that realization. With slow, uncertain steps, I walked towards the bed. I took a deep breath in and I was assaulted by her scent. I ignored the strange thoughts in my head and leaned over her.
"Liv," I called softly, but she just screamed once again.
The strangest urge overcame me to hold her, and I complied. For the first time in forever, I acted irrationally. I lifted her thin, thrashing body and gently brought it to mine. I wound my arms around her waist and her upper back so that I could support her weight.
I heard Antoine and Vasya enter her room and then engulfed us in light as they switched the lamps on. I almost snarled at them thinking that the light would bother her and cause her to abruptly wake up, but she was still squirming around. "Liv," I cooed softly in her ear. "Liv wake up," I whispered again.
"No!" she yelled and hit my back. She was still in a violent dream. I wanted to try and read her thoughts, but they were too frantic, irrational and jumbled to make sense to me. All I could feel was the overwhelming sense of fear.
I started shaking her in the gentlest way. I didn't want to leave any bruises on her skin. I gestured Vasya and Antoine nearer and asked Antoine to hold her in an upright manner while Vasya had to fetch a bucket of lavender scented water and a cloth. I combed her wild hair away from her face and spoke softly to her.
"Olivia, you have to wake up," I said and rocked her a bit so she could shake out of the dream.
"I won't!" she yelled. "I will not kill him!" she yelled louder.
"Olivia," I said louder now. I didn't care how she would act after she woke up, she just had to. The fear, the terror and her anxiety were eating me alive. "Wake up princess," I said and shook her awake.
She pushed Antoine's hands off her and looked around her room with wide, panic-struck eyes. Antoine, understanding the situation, moved away from her quietly and I walked closer to her, in her line of sight. When she saw me, she jumped out of bed and hugged me tightly.
I hugged her back and carried her to her bed. "Shh, it is okay," I told her as I felt her tears fall.
"No, no it is not okay, Alex!" she sobbed. "You don't know what happened!"
I smoothed down her hair. "I am sorry; do you want to tell me what happened?"
She clung tightly to me without saying a word and I took that as a no. She didn't speak for the longest time and by then Vasya had already brought the scented water and cloth. Finally, she spoke.
"I dreamt about them," she admitted in a small voice.
My heart constricted. I immediately knew who she was talking about. "It is reasonable to cry if you dreamt of those murderers, Liv. They killed your parents," I said.
"I wasn't crying because they were in my dream!" she said annoyed that I would even think she was so weak.
I felt so chastised by her tone, but there was no way in hell I would let her know right now. She was in too much discomfort over her dream. Instead of yelling back at her, I took a calming breath, and then spoke. "So why were you crying?"
She moved back, but sat on my lap. Her face had streaks of tears and more were still coming. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked so tired, still. In the nicest way possible, she looked like she was dragged through hell and brought back.
"They had me cornered in the house," she gulped and looked me. Fear was still lingering her eyes like the last dying embers of a fire. I was aching to stroke her face and have her tell me the story while she laid her head on my chest. She looked so broken, so torn apart, so fragile. I couldn't bear to see her that way.
"I wasn't scared. I was ready for them; in fact I could practically predict their every move. I was prepared and I could feel the adrenaline running through my veins. I was hyper, alert and aware. I couldn't identify them because they were black masks over their face, but they spoke. I knew it was them. The biggest one, taunted me, trying to find a weakness. But I had none, or so I thought. Later on, I found out I did in fact have a few weaknesses. He kept spitting words at me that was supposed to break my walls down. But I remembered what Henry always said, 'Never let your fear show. Never let anything distract you in the fight'. They circled me like a shark around its prey. It didn't intimidate me at all. But then soon we were fighting. Three against one is never an easy feat, but I managed to stun one of them. Then, the other two got aggressive and the medium built one pulled me into a room," she stopped there, choking on her breath.
Involuntarily, I let out a growl as I suspected what might have happened there. If he had...touched her, it would be enough to scare anyone. But, I thought, that wouldn't make her scream that she won't kill him.
She leaned her head on my chest and tightened her grip on my shirt. "He shoved me roughly into the room and chuckled. I stumbled and nearly fell, but muffled sounds made me gain my balance and look up." She released a hand from her death grip on my shirt and wiped her eyes. "It was my family."
That confused me. Her family was dead. How could she be dreaming of them if they were dead? Or was she having one of those mixed dreams where you misplace and mix two situations up? She was eighteen and well trained, it would make sense for her to be fearless against them, but why dream about her dead family? Was she feeling guilty about not saving them when she was younger and now that she is older, does she feel like she can change the outcome? Because that is ridiculous.
The outcome can never change.
"It was Sebastian and Cathy and Rosie and Robert and...and you," she stammered over my name, but a burst of pride went through me. We were her family. We were the ones she was dreaming about. She cared about us and loved us.
"Then, I stared at your faces. You were all bruised and your clothes were torn and bloodied. I ran forward, but then he grabbed me and pushed me to the floor. I stood up and punched him in the gut. He didn't like it, so he kicked me. My leg hurt, but the muffled cries made me realize how foolish I was being. I stood up proudly and then apologized half-heartedly. However, he wasn't too pleased, so he threw a knife straight through Sebastian's throat. All around me, I heard the muffled cries. I cried myself and ran to Sebastian, but he gave me a weak smile and...and died. Right in front of me. I was sad, but I was more than that. I was enraged. The anger kept building and building as he killed each one of you, except you. He was ready to attack you when I jumped in the way. Don't misunderstand me. I tried to save everyone before that, but..." she choked up and started crying again.
I wrapped my arms around her. I understood her torment.
"They were both there. They were taunting me. It turned out that I didn't actually stun the other guy, I killed him. And I was prepared to do that to these two. I lunged for the main guy, but the other one got in the way. Soon, I killed him. I ended up with tons of bruises and that, but I was ready for the other one. I went for him, but he held me at arm's length, choking me. You were screaming through the gag." She stopped for a second, recollecting her thoughts.
"You were worried for me, but I was okay. I remained calm and kept my body limp. I finally had had enough of being his ragdoll. I kicked him where it hurt most —between his legs. I fell and crouched into a ball. As he bent over, I kicked his face and then gained my balance and threw a satisfying punch which broke his nose. I went on fighting, but he let me. Then in one swipe, he threw me against the wall. I crumbled to the floor. He leaned over me and I prepared myself for death. But, he shocked me. He said that if I could kill you, he'd let me live. He handed me the gun that promised to kill you. I refused and cried that I couldn't kill you. You were the king. I would rather die than kill you. I couldn't do it. I was adamant that I wouldn't and that cost me my life. He kicked me and punched me and before I could die, he shot you himself. I watched your body sag as the life drained out of you, Alex. I was so scared; I never want to see that again. I never want to lose my family, I can't," she sobbed.
I felt the anger rise in me. She dreamt of my death and of those that she loved. Once again, committed by those that forced her into this situation. "You won't princess, I promise. I will keep you safe," I vowed and kissed her head.
"You can't Alex, they're coming for me," she said sniffling. "You can't keep me safe. They will find me regardless." She sounded so sure, so sincere. But I wouldn't let anything happen to her. She was too loyal, too innocent and too pure. How could I send her to her death?
I scoffed showing her I wasn't worried in the least. "I am King, remember?" I said in a light, teasing voice.
"How could I forget?" she said drily, but it sounded more lifeless, dead.
Her hope had diminished, her faith lost. She was the dying ember at the moment. Her heart beat was a comfort knowing that she was still alive, but for how long? I could feel her certainty that she was going to kill them and die. Her strength was reserved for her last battle. She wasn't giving up on her aim in life; she was just giving up life itself.
I couldn't let her do this. I couldn't lose her, whether because I felt a pull to her innocence, or because she made me change. All I knew, I was going to kill them before they killed her. She was a broken, little angel when I found her. I will not allow her to become that shell again.
So, I tried one last lame attempt to get her to smile. "So, uh, since you are up can I get some hot chocolate?"
She let go off my shirt and strained her neck to look at me. There was a spark there, a smile played on her pink lips and she glared at me. But I didn't care, she hadn't forgotten yet, but she wasn't obsessing over it. She let out a deep, unsatisfied sigh and slid off my lap.
"I guess I don't have a choice," she said mockingly. She stood facing me with her hands on her hips and that smile still lingered on her lips. "Well? Are you coming?" she sashayed away and I speed-ran and picked her up and carried her to the kitchen.
"Alex!" she growled as she landed on the floor with a thud. I guess, she was back. That angry, feisty minx had returned.
They may have succeeded in frightening her through a silly dream, but I was around. And I was not going to let her get hurt. I am Alexander Antonio Sandrigo, and I am the Vampire King.
My word is law and this was a promise to kill anyone who hurt her.