After crying all that I could, I sat up straight, back pressed firmly against the door, as I aggressively wiped my face.
If I am only a blood match, then only a blood match you will get, husband. Starting today.
I stayed in my sanctuary for a couple of hours before I heard noises outside my door. Voices.
“When was the last time you saw her?” Onyx sounded concerned, but now I knew better.
Sophie said, “Well, she was in the kitchen with me before lunch. She was going to ask you what you wanted for lunch, but she never returned.”
Yes, and I won’t be doing that anymore.
A soft knock on the door. I stood from my loveseat and slowly walked towards the door, my book in my hand. I had left it locked, and spent the time trying to read. Instead, I spent most of the time wandering through my life, and wondering how and why I ended up here. What had I done to deserve this?
I could tell he tried the door knob, then knocked again a little louder.
“Dreya?Honey?Are you okay?”
Perfectly fine now that I know where I stand in this marriage.
I unlocked the door and kept a restrained smile on my face.
“Yes?”
He looked at me confused, then to Sophie, who shifted uncomfortably. I usually had a big smile on my face. Not any more. He did not deserve it. The staff had been nice enough, but the truth was this was his house, his staff. Not mine. That conversation I heard earlier made that very clear.
“Are you okay?” He looked me over, curiously.
I shrugged lightly. “Perfectly fine.”
He stared at me, apparently waiting for more. I gave him nothing. I would give him nothing.
“Have you had lunch yet?” He seemed hopeful.
“I’m not very hungry. I’ll eat later.” I continued to smile tightly at him.
He frowned. “Are you not feeling well?”
I raised an eyebrow at him. Vampyrs don’t get sick. Unless there is something wrong with the blood they drink. A vampyr, in his desperation, once drank tainted human blood. He ended up convulsing for hours before the blood purged itself from his system. He later said he felt like his insides were on fire. Found out later, the human blood was tainted with anemia. The iron in the blood was so low, it almost didn’t register at all. Poor human was probably sicker than death itself. No one knew where he got the tainted blood as the man refused to admit to it. He had been a bleeder.
Bleeders were often low blood borns that had been taken for bloodlettings against their will, then thrown out on the street. They ended up being unable to maintain their job position because of missing work for so many days that they had to live on the streets and get blood from wherever they could find any. Usually from blood dealers who traded services for blood, sometimes tainted human blood. I knew about bleeders because I spent too much time listening to the gossip of my house staff growing up. Not like I had much else to do. I was locked in by my father. He had stated his blatant discontent for me onnumerous occasions, both for my unique red hair and the fact I had not been born a male vampyr.
“In a flat tone, I said, “I feel fine.” I paused looking between them, then smiled a tight smile again. “Is there anything else?”
Onyx frowned at me. “Ummm no. I just wanted to check on you.”
“As I have said, I am fine. But I would like to get back to my book now, if you don’t need anything further from me.” I waited very briefly, then closed the door on them both. Then I locked it and returned to me loveseat. I sat there quietly, as I could hear no movement. After some time, footsteps moved away from the door.
Yes, dear husband. And now you will know where I stand.
Chapter 7
Onyx’s POV
Something had changed drastically in the past three weeks or so. Dreya was no longer making an effort to meet me in the living room after work, making small talk during dinner, or asking me what I wanted for my meals on the weekends. In fact, my blood wife had been doing the exact opposite. She was no longer seeking me out, no longer making any kind of initiation in conversations, only engaged when I initiated aboutherday, and spending an awful lot of time in her “sanctuary,” with the door closed and locked. The changes had put me on edge. Maybe this was the real Dreya. I felt an immense amount of dread, and discomfort. I realized once the changes began to happen, that I missed the things she had been doing, even if I had not shown any outward appreciation to her efforts.
The only time Dreya made any effort at contact with me was during the taking. However, there had been a change with that as well. In the beginning, she would come to bed naked, or in a silky nightgown. Truth be told, both options had tempted me to no end, but I held my restraint until the next morning at which time I would initiate sex with my wife. She did not discourage the intimacy, but I could feel a change there as well. Once it was done and over, she turned away from me.
The first night after the taking in which she turned, I had been shocked at her ability to grab the sheet on the bed and pull herself away. That had to have taken quite the effort to do. It would, however, become the new way she would respond to me after the taking.
