Chapter 85
“Why hasn’t the council called for a meeting then?” Usually when something took place Lord Alexander would have gone to the council’s meeting and if a man from the council had been killed wasn’t it important to find the culprit?
“The news hasn’t traveled that far. We had no clue about it until Lord Alexander wrote to us early in the morning. I believe it is only the Lords and the head council with a few of more who are aware of what happened.
“I see,” she murmured deep in thought.
Looked like things were really going haywire in the empire, thought Katie to herself. With the men who were trying to divide the nightly creatures from he human lands, Norman’s trying to kill Lord Alexander and now the murder of a council member. All this while she had been living on the other side of the curtain where life was filled peace and the only thing there was to worries she had were minute details of the daily life. But since the massacre of her town took place, the curtain had been pulled down to show what reality was. The town folks were unaware of it as the truth was hidden from them to maintain peace.
“-ine? Katherine?” she heard Mr. Travers call out her name.
“Yes,” she answered looking at his hazel eyes.
“Really?” he asked her to which she quickly apologized in panic.
“Forgive me, I didn’t listen to your previous question.”
“I asked if you were free this evening. I wanted to take you to the theater.”
“Theater?” she tilted her head.
“Ah-yes. You see, there is this new play in the theater and I have been hearing a lot about it. Would you like to go? With me I mean,” Katie was surprised with the sudden invitation.
The word theater and play brought different memories now and she felt her cheeks grow hot after Lord Alexander had taken her to the midnight theater.
“I-” she began to be interrupted.
“I’ll drop you back safe. I promise,” he uttered the words feeling a little nervous as he awaited for her reply.
“Unfortunately Katherine won’t be joining you Mr. Travers,” they heard the Lord speak, his shoes clicking on the white marbled floor, “She already has plans for tonight.”
“Is that so,” she heard Mr. Traver’s murmur while the others came into view.
Quill studied the Lord of Valeria from the side, as the others joined. By the surprise look the woman showed when the Lord mentioned about going out it seemed that the Lord didn’t want him taking her out.
Was this the man Katherine was infatuated with?
But Lord Alexander wasn’t one to have a constant relationships or rather he didn’t have one. Now that he thought about it, Lord Alexander had always managed to keep a good distance when it came to women while they spoke in any event or balls. But now he stood quite close to her.
If Lord Alexander did have an interest with the woman, he didn’t stand a chance against him. When they were about to leave, to test the truth Quill took Katie’s hand in his and bent down to leave a kiss on the back of her hand. He had taken more than the required time in kissing her hand.
“Young Quill has taken a liking towards the girl,” Mrs. Tanner laughed heartily.
“They make quite a couple,” another one said widening Katie’s eyes in response.
When Quill pulled back, he smiled at Katie and then wished everyone a day before getting on the carriage like the rest.
historical
Sitting in the carriage, Quill looked outside at scenery, trees passing in succession. Since a child he was brought up in an environment where he had learned to observe people, to pick the small things which went unseen by others.
His mother was the second wife of Mr. Barton but they didn’t live together. After his mother had given birth to him, the boy was taken under the Barton’s and it was only at thirteen when his mother had passed away that he decided to break the invisible chains that held him with his father. Truth was that he despised the man but nevertheless he was his father, the husband of his mother and he avoided the man’s presence.
When his eyes had met the Lord’s he had smiled. At first it seemed like any normal smile but it was only few seconds later that he realized there was something odd about it. Like it was hiding something sinister.
Katie kept glancing at Lord Alexander every once in a while as they walked inside.
“What’s the matter, Katherine?” he asked turning his head towards her.
He said Katherine, she noted it in her mind which wasn’t good.
“Um...Are we going somewhere tonight?” she asked him.
“No,” was his simple answer to which she frowned. Lord Alexander stopped to tuck the hair behind her ear, “I want to keep you for myself, is that wrong?” He asked her making her heart thump at his words.
“Avoid going to the town until everything settles down. With the way things are, the town aren’t safe. Stay where my eyes can reach you, alright?” and with that Katie saw him walk towards his study room.
Were things really that bad that Lord Alexander wished for her not to go out to the town? She wondered why the council member was murdered and to be beheaded? It was too gruesome.
The rest of the day went by quickly. Once Ralph was back from his fever, he planned to leave Valeria the next week. Katie wanted him to stay and her cousin wanted her to go with him. Ralph knew some of his acquaintance in the South empire and had decided to make a living there. She wondered if she was doing the right thing by staying in Valeria. But that’s what her heart wanted. She was only following her heart and apparently her mind had decided to tag along.
One evening after they had returned back to the mansion after watching the play of ‘Hide’, Lord Alexander had taken her to his room to give her the letter Annabelle had sent her. Her friend had finally given birth to a healthy girl. She was happy for her and she wished to go give her blessings to the family.
When she had completed reading the letter, she looked up to see Lord Alexander looking at her with a smile.
“I don’t know why but seeing you smile makes me happy,” he said taking the letter from her and placing it on the table, “Are you alright with this? Sending your cousin to another Empire?” He asked her.
“I can think of no other way,” she said feeling his hand play with her fingers, “I wished he could stay but he’s already made up his mind. And forcing him here wouldn’t be right,” she said, her eyes moistening in the process.
It wasn’t like she wouldn’t be seeing him in the future.
“Do you want to go with him?” Lord Alexander had a serious look on his face as he asked the question.
“Do you want me to?” She in turn asked him making him smile.
“No, I don’t. I want you to abide the words you spoke few days ago,” Katie felt Lord Alexander place a kiss on her forehead tenderly.
She felt his fingers weave through the back of her hair before grasping it gently as he lowered his lips to hers.
Feeling the wet tongue slide through a lips, she opened up to him while he pulled her in his arms. He unbuttoned the first few buttons of her dress in the front as he kissed.
Pulling her to the bed, he urged her carefully to get on the bed as his fingers traced her neck and her back now. When he bit her lip she moaned in delight and pain. The sweet taste of blood on his tongue made him crave for her.
He had given her his word that he wouldn’t touch another woman but it had been costing him. The longer he controlled his thirst to have fresh blood the harder it was getting for him with his sexual desire only increasing as time passed. He wasn’t fond of taking blood from the same gender, previously it was always the women’s blood he enjoyed when they were in their prime time. Alexander now sucked the lower bottom of her lip. His hand taking off the offensive clothing, almost tearing it in a hurry and trying to get rid of it.
Pressing languid kisses down her throat he began sucking the skin in between her neck and shoulder. He sucked and nipped, repeating the process until Katie was out of breath. Feeling his canines throb, he finally bit the flesh, breaking the tender skin and letting the blood seep out of her neck.
The sudden puncture of the skin had made Katie twist her body in pain but Lord Alexander’s arms had kept her still in position as he drank the blood from her neck.
When Katie’s moans quietened, Lord Alexander pulled back realizing that he had taken more than he had initially intended to. As a small drop of blood seeped out of her skin, ready to trickle down, Alexander caught it in time with his finger. Licking the blood off his finger, he laid the woman down carefully before pulling over the blanket over her. There was no doubt her blood was the sweetest of all he had.
It wasn’t that though. It was sweet because it was her. In the midst of taking blood from her, he had also created a soul bond between them which he hadn’t done with anyone before her, a bond that couldn’t be undone and which was for eternity.
Bending down he left a small kiss on her lips.
“Sleep as much as you want now, my butterfly,” he whispered above her lips because once he would start having his way with her, she wouldn’t be sleeping a lot.