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I sniffed, taking in so much all at once; the musty smell of the cabin, the earthiness of the packed dirt. William's scent was citrusy, the forest around us smelled of pine. Swirling with it all was something unique, iron and peppery herb.
Suddenly, there was a deep pressure in my gums, my mouth watered, and I fought to move William from my way instinctively.
He laughed, locking his arms around me tightly, the muscles crushing against my movements.
“You make a magnificent vampyre,” he murmured, lips pressed to my neck. I snapped my teeth, growling from low in my belly, not wholly in my right mind.
“Get the hell off,” I hissed, thrashing in his arms. William merely rolled his eyes, slinging the door open, still caged together. In the living space of the cabin sat a woman in all black, knitting in her chair by the fire. A gravelly sound bubbled from my throat, every muscle in my body wanted to crouch, to lunge at her.
William hushed me. “Mrs. Donald, I apologize in advance for this but Rose must feed.”
The woman, wide eyed with dread, threw down her knitting and stood from her seat. I could smell the fear permeating off of her, enticing and electric. It set my senses alight, beckoning for me to take her right there.
A small part of me wondered what sort of horrid beast she saw as I fought against William’s hold, snarling and snapping like an animal. I was lost, now only driven by her scent, by the dryness in my throat which burned intensely with every whiff.
“God will judge us all,” she whispered, her hand over her heart.
William released me, “We do not fear your god.”
Before the woman could blink, I held her in my arms, neck craned so that I could sink my painfully sprouted fangs into her jugular. Biting into her was soft and easy, the liquid ran into my mouth, coating the drought with warmth and moisture. I was rabid, trying to drain her before she could make me angry enough to snap her neck.
Entirely too soon, she fell limp against me, sucked dry. Her face was frozen in horror, brown eyes unseeing. What had I done?
“Very nice, Rose,” William approved, taking the slack body from me. He ripped her head from her shoulders, the sickening crunching and tearing spurred no reaction from him, but I jolted with every hack. Piece by piece he tossed Mrs. Donald’s limbs into the fireplace to burn, the stench of charred flesh filling the room. I wiped my mouth with the sleeve of William's jacket, which I realized was all I wore. My hands were covered in thick, sticky blood, my chin dripped onto my neck and in between my breasts.
“You mustn’t become so thirsty that you feel as though you might attack the next human you come by. Keep tabs on it... do not make a spectacle of yourself,” he explained, tossing the torso into the roaring flames. William’s expression was taunt, his features so much more angular than I could recall. How had he let himself get so thirsty?
Why was I concerned about it after what he’d done? I was covered in someone else’s blood, Idrankit. It was still coating my tongue, practically velvet. And I wanted more!
“How—How could you do this to me? I don't want this!” I spluttered as tears built behind my eyes. Grief, pure regret and grief raged through me. I killed that woman. My trembling hands were drenched in her blood.
“I can't live without you, Rosemary. I simply cannot.” William closed the distance between us, his eyes and voice steel. “You mean more to me than I do to myself, I couldn't let you die. It was hard enough to know our daughter was lost, but you”–his thumb ran over my blood soaked lip–“we will get through this, and in a hundred years, all will be right.” William’s smile did not touch his eyes. I ripped away, slapping him, the force enough to knock him back a few feet.
“You can’t just Change anyone without their permission, William. I don’t want this life, I never did! I don’t want to be a demon! Now I must live with the memories of that day for eternity, don’t you see? It will haunt me forever.Thisishell!”I shrieked.
“Yes, it is,” he replied quiet, calm. “We have no choice unfortunately. All we can do is make due with what we have.”
“We do have a choice! Wedid!You took that choice away from me!”
“You thinkIwanted this, Rose? I hoped we would have had more time to discuss something like this. I always wanted to give you that choice. Do you think thatIwanted to live forever, to see too many days and experience too many deaths for all of eternity? No!” William's voice rose with each word, his powerful frame towering over me. “Noel Changed me, and now I am to be tortured by both vampirism and Noel forever. I did not want that for you, but you must understand:youare my life.”
“Congratulations, William. You have added another miserable soul to suffer along with you,” I spat. Running too fast, I was in the bedroom, stumbling to come to a stop. I used the rug and bucket of water beside the bed to scrub myself clean of the blood, so much more than I realized.
“Horris thanked me when I Changed him. I thought you’d at least be glad to stay with me,” William explained, loping into the room. From a trunk I pulled a simple brown frock. “What are you doing? Where are you going?”
“My mother.”
“Youcannot.” He grabbed my arm roughly, fingers sinking into the flesh.
I tugged back, indignant, fire in my gut. “Why not?”
“Everyone thinks you are dead. Noel left quite the scene after she disappeared. Filip and Horris are searching for her and her accomplice now.”
Adam’s face was behind my eyes, the way he stood by while Noel tore me open, ripped his niece from inside me. How he stood by and watched her kill me, kill my daughter?
“What is it?” William took my face between his hands, alarmed. His skin was the same temperature as mine, almost warm. “Rose, what is it?”
“Adam. He was there. He–he watched her, he didn’t stop her.” I blubbered; the room turned into a kaleidoscope, my knees wobbling.
