Damian was a little confused when he took Maria back to the clan house to see the council, and he saw the way Kaitlin was looking at him from across the room. He spotted her instantly, the moment he walked in the door dragging Maria along. His hand was on the back of her elbow to remind her who was boss and that she was to do as she was told. As strange as it was to have picked Kaitlin out of the crowd, it was the intense devotion in her eyes and the smile on her lips that confused him more. He ignored it long enough to take Maria into the council room.
Damian told the council her complaints of becoming a vampire and how much she didn't want to be one of them. He also told them that she had taken him up on his suggestion and slept with Noah before leaving the clan house. The elders asked to speak with her and Noah alone. He was quickly brought in.
Damian was sent away, only to hear of what had happened through the grapevine. But he wanted to investigate the curious looks from Kaitlin, which became his number one priority as soon as he got out of the council meeting room. He couldn't stop thinking about their kiss. The minute she saw him walking toward her, she suddenly took off, making her way toward the staircase.
He was intrigued by her and wanted to find out what was going on. Why did she keep looking at him the way she did? Intending to find out, Damian followed her up the flight of stairs and along the corridor, surprised when she walked into his bedroom and not her own.
Shutting the door behind him, he leaned against it to make sure that he didn't do anything irrational. Kaitlin suddenly took a hesitant step forward, smiling to herself. "I love you, Damian," she said, taking him off guard.
"Kaitlin, it's not real. I put the thoughts into your head and made you love me because it was convenient and it made my job easier," Damian explained with a heavy heart, knowing that there was some truth to his seduction, but he couldn't risk telling her so. Technically, he was promised to Amelia. He had been stupid enough to fall in love with her, despite everything she'd done to him. But now that there was a great, loving woman that he had feelings for, he couldn't be with her. Amelia had done it to him again, without even being there.
"Yes, I know. But you forget that I'm a witch," Kaitlin replied with a seductive smile that he couldn't help but adore in spite of it all.
Damian managed to keep his own smile hidden, maintaining the stone-faced expression that would get him out of his bedroom without doing anything stupid.
"Once we got here," Kaitlin continued, "I knew what had happened, but I want you to turn me anyway. I love you, regardless of what you did or what you had to do to do your job. All the thoughts you planted within my mind are now gone. I got rid of them after we arrived and I still want to be with you. Does that mean anything to you now?" she wondered.
From the look in her eyes, he knew that she would completely forgive him if he said no, if he admitted that it had been just a job and nothing more. And because of it, Damian had no answer for her. He was so confused that he didn't know what to do or say.
Kaitlin took the initiative and stepped up close to him. "If you want me, then I'm here. I'm ready to be with you for all eternity, if you'll let me," she whispered softly, then stood on her tip toes to softly brush her lips against his.
And then it all came back to him. Angela and Amelia, what had happened, who had caused it and how empty he'd felt since. How guilty he'd felt every moment of his life since he had fallen for Amelia. How he felt he was betraying Angela every time he had to seduce a girl on the elders orders. But with Kaitlin, he felt none of that. No betrayal or guilt, just warmth and normality, like he was a regular guy again. He remembered just how good their first kiss had been. Because of that, he couldn't hold back.
Damian kissed her back, running his hand through her hair, pulling her close. He knew if he didn't, he would go ahead with the elder's plans and unite with Amelia to be her lifelong companion, and he would never know the truth. He would never again know how it felt to be normal, to be who he was before he'd ever known Lucius and Amelia existed. He would never know if Kaitlin really loved him or if his powers were just so much greater than hers that she didn't realize the truth for herself. So he kissed her with all the passion that he was capable of, passion that had been pushed so deep down within him that he thought it no longer existed. But it did. At least, it did with Kaitlin.
It wasn't long before their kiss took heat, as if they had always known, wanted and loved each other but had never been allowed to be together, as his falsified story had claimed. Within a matter of minutes they had backed over to his bed and started undressing each other until they were entangled in their passion for one another. But after a few kisses and some rational thought, Damian pulled back from her reluctantly, knowing that once it was done there was no going back. He couldn't be with Amelia once he had made love to Kaitlin and he needed her to be entirely sure of what she was getting herself into before they committed to anything.
"Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?" Damian asked her gently.
A happy smile and a light kiss convinced him more than the softly whispered "yes" into his ear that was her answer. Because she had made up her mind, knowing it would be the only chance she had to back out, he brushed his hand across her bare neck and offered her a reassuring smile before biting into her neck and feeding from her.
Her blood had a taste that he hadn't known before. It was addictive, alluring in the strangest of ways, giving him the same kind of kick as kissing her. He couldn't stop himself from hungrily drinking more. His fingers dug into her arm, reminding him that she was still very much alive, and he wanted her to stay that way. A few minutes later he forced himself to back off. He stared down at her breathlessly, his face changed to one that she hadn't seen before. Damian brushed his thumb along her arm where a drop of her blood trickled from a slight wound made by his fingernails. There was darkness in his eyes as he lifted it to his mouth, tasting her blood once more with such delight that he closed his eyes, savoring the taste.
Kaitlin watched silently, completely captivated by him. A delectable feeling filled her as he fed from her, and she wondered if it was just as good as the one feeding. Sensual and captivating.
With a fresh wound for her to feed from, he offered her his wrist. She didn't hesitate to feed from him in return, closing her eyes to fight back the instant gag reflex at first tasting his blood. But after just a few moments, it became a desperate need and not a repulsion. When she felt as if she'd had enough, Kaitlin replaced the taste of his blood with the taste of his kisses, reigniting their passion. And soon they were passionately making love.
Damian woke a few hours later, feeling much better after his sleep than he felt in a long time. After all, he had broken a few rules of his clan with Kaitlin. By choosing Kaitlin, he went against his promise to unite with Amelia once she returned. Secondly, he had broken the rules by turning her, knowing full well that she would be rejected by her own people. But now that it was done, there was no going back.
Although he didn't regret it, he felt bad about the consequences it might have for her. He felt worse when there was a quiet knock on the door a moment later. He took a deep breath and looked down at Kaitlin sleeping peacefully at his side, snuggled into her pillow for warmth. He pulled the covers back up over her shoulder and slipped out of bed, then pulled on a pair of jeans and made his way to the door, wondering who wanted to talk to him now and disturb his peace.
When he opened the door to find Parker, one of Matisse's lackeys, he knew it was serious. He usually kept an eye on the door during council meetings, so his presence definitely stank of an elder requesting his attendance.
"Lucius would like to speak to you. Shall I tell him you are on your way?" Parker asked politely, not presuming anything until he had his assurance that he would attend.
"I'll be down in just a moment," he replied, then shut the door.
Once Parker was gone, he turned to Kaitlin, wondering how he was going to leave without waking her and without having to explain anything. Damian wouldn't have the slightest clue of how to explain it without having time to think it over first.
As quickly as he could, he wrote her a quick note and left it propped up against the clock on the bedside table so that she would see it, explaining that he had to go to a council meeting and would be back soon. He just hoped he would get back before she woke.
Turning his thoughts back to the council, he didn't know what they could want to talk to him about. He worried about it as he finished dressing and made his way downstairs and saw Trey walking his way.
"Hey bud, listen, class tonight ... are you coming?" Trey asked, stopping him from getting any further than the bottom of the stairs.
"Yes, I'll be there," Damian answered. "Let's talk later."
But Trey took hold of his arm and led him across to a quiet corner with a smile, bursting to talk to him. "You're in love!" Trey whispered. "Don't try denying it ... I know you. So who is it? Maria? Or one of the other girls who are so much like Amelia you just can't resist her?" Trey knew him too well to fall for any excuses or lies.
Because Trey was his best friend, Damian just smiled and decided to be brutally honest with him. "Kaitlin. It's Kaitlin," Damian said with a sigh.
Trey smiled in approval. "The witch? Good choice. She's hot. Not to mention that you never have to worry that your history with Amelia is influencing you, because she's a strong minded woman. I don't think she'd let anyone get in her way." He was glad to see that Damian was finally listening to him and giving up the ghost of Angela. "It's been over four centuries since she died, Damian. It's about time that you move on and find someone else."
"I know. That's the problem. The more I'm on this mission, the more I hate Amelia and everything she stood for. I don't want her back. I don't want her anywhere near me," Damian admitted. Now that he'd turned Kaitlin and committed himself to her, there was no way he was going to be forced to be with Amelia, whether the elders demanded it or not. They weren't the promiscuous vampires of folklore and novels or movies like Maria thought. They were well rooted, monogamous people. Once they chose a bride or a companion, it was for life, which was why Trey had never drifted into relationships with women. He didn't see the point unless it was for real and forever. But then, born in the middle of the 1400's, they hadn't been allowed any other way of thinking. Trey understood better than anyone else, knowing that Angela's memory kept creeping into whatever mission Damian was sent on. He was sure the elders would understand his decision not to be with Amelia. Only, Damian wasn't so sure.
"I've done so much already. I think I'd be a good leader, but I just don't know anymore," Damian replied with a sigh, suddenly not sure if he'd done the right thing by Kaitlin, despite it being the one thing that he felt so strongly about in several hundred years. But he had to think logically about the clans, about Amelia, about his one and only opportunity to be the leader of their people. After all, he wasn't eligible without Amelia. He wasn't an elder or the child of one and he had no way of taking care of their people without her.
"Trust me and trust yourself. Do what feels right," Trey replied. He wanted him to finally be happy and to stop following orders. He only did so because he felt guilty at having let Amelia do such a stupid thing in the first place. It wasn't his fault and Trey was trying his best to make him see that.
"I'll meet you at the college tonight," Damian replied with a sigh before heading toward the council meeting room.
Damian had no intention of bringing the subject up with them at the meeting, but he couldn't help but wonder why he had been summoned. It became more curious when Lucius asked him to take a seat, signifying either a long stay or that they were about to broach a personal subject. Damian hoped it wasn't the latter.
"We were wondering if you had any more information about the young girl, Megan, and the kidnappings?" Lucius asked curiously, making Damian feel a little guilty.
"I'm afraid I've been so busy with Maria and Kaitlin that I haven't been able to find out, Sire," Damian apologized, but before anyone could comment, his mobile phone rang, which was still in the pocket of his jeans. "Excuse me. I forgot it was on," Damian apologized for the interruption, but knew he had to take it, seeing that it was a text from Finlay. He sighed as he read it and thought about the problem it could create with Kaitlin if he had to run off after he had just complicated both of their lives. "That's Finlay. The man Megan is promised to. He's asking me to dinner tonight because they're going to meet. It may be a good opportunity to find out about the kidnappings," he explained, hoping that it would give him a good excuse to escape the insanity of his job for a while.
"Very well. And take Kaitlin with you. It will help explain any absences she may have later," Lucius ordered, knowing nothing of his afternoon with her. Damian smiled, nodding his agreement before heading off to tell Kaitlin the good news.
*****
Emily was so excited that she couldn't stop herself from going straight down to the master's library to tell him the good news. She'd just received a text from Trey saying that he was seriously thinking about converting to her clan.
She lightly knocked on the door facing of the open door and walked in. "Do you have a minute, Sire?"
"For you? Always," Cezar greeted her with a smile.
Emily returned the smile and walked in, so excited that she didn't take the seat he offered her. "I just spoke to Trey. He's willing to convert to our clan, but only if you can offer him a high ranking position as a soldier."
Cezar looked up at her, disappointed. The entire point of her converting people wasn't so that she could just start collecting phone numbers and texting people about whether they wanted to leave their clan to join his. It was to keep her busy and get her out of the house so that they could find a way to tell her about Tyler. "I'm afraid it's not that easy, dear. If I were to invite him to be with us now he would know something wasn't right. It's too easy. You can't just go around finding their weaknesses and using it against them. Eventually, they're going to smell a rat and start looking for you to keep your promises," Cesar explained, then went back to reading his book with little interest about her opinion on the matter.
It wasn't a game. This was life and a very serious subject. She couldn't just walk in and out of it as if it were optional. What she was asking people to do was to go against their family, betray their clan and she just wasn't taking it seriously.
"Keep trying," he urged her gently, unsurprised when she turned and stormed out of the room like a diva. She wasn't a child anymore. It was about time that she realized it and grew up. But just as he was starting to get back into his book, the door opened again and Filipe walked in, making him sigh.
"You're being too hard on her," Filipe said. "She's trying her best to fit into this world that she doesn't understand. Spare a thought for her feelings." He took a seat in front of Cesar's desk, trying to soften Cezar. He understood why he was doing it, but all he asked was that he ease up a little and try not to punish her for trying her best.
"I understand what you're saying, but she must learn that she can't just take the easiest road for everything. She has to work for things in life and she won't get anywhere until she realizes that," Cezar reasoned, maintaining his right to boss her about to a certain extent. He was the master, after all, and he had every right to expect some logical, mature thinking from the girl, but he also agreed with Filipe a little. Someone who wasn't being respected enough to be given a high ranking position in his own clan's army would do anything to get that position, even if he had to leave his clan to get it. "I suppose so," he grumbled, annoyed that he was being proven wrong yet again, particularly when it was about Emily.
"The boy has feelings for her, you know. Perhaps stronger than even Tyler could ever have dreamed of. He would never have condemned her to this life without realizing the consequences, but now that she's one of us, this boy won't be too scared to show his feelings for her. It's only time before she sees it for herself," Filipe assured him, surprising Cezar. He had almost forgotten that Filipe could sense emotions from people. It made him curious.
Cezar hadn't expected such a thing but when Filipe got up and headed for the door, he replied, "Do what you think is best for her." He hoped to make her happy again, despite all the things they had done to her lately to make her unhappy. But what Tyler had done to her was much worse and there was no way for them to rectify that mistake, though they each wished they could. All they could hope for was that someone would come along at the clan meetings who would accept her and possibly even promise a union between them that would bring about peace. They needed any miracle they could get lately and he hoped it would come soon, or else they would be left to deal with the disaster that Emily's new situation had brought to their clan. They needed to find a rival candidate to serve as the united clan's leader—someone to better Matthew.