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lust we shared was something I
had never experienced before. It made the transition all the more
easier.
    If fate had
played a part in this, then maybe I would adjust. Given time, I
would learn to accept my role in my new life.
    Maybe.
     

Chapter
Five

     
    MY HEAD
WAS still spinning from the rush when a
tall man with dark short hair came to my side. He looked down at
Alex and me. He did not speak. He stared until his attention was
stirred by Atarah’s arrival. She looked angelical, her beauty like
nothing I had ever seen before. Her deep brown eyes held the same
allure as Alex’s, and I found it hard not to gasp when they changed
momentarily, a deep red flushing away the charisma.
    I felt as
though I was part of a freak show with the blood fresh on my lips
leaving me exposed. Anger welled up inside me, and I wanted to
scream. I did not understand the constant intrusions. So much was
happening so fast, and I wanted to slow down.
    Alex wiped
his neck as he stood up, and reached for my hand, helping me to my
feet. I looked at him, waiting for some kind of explanation, only
to be faced with silence.
    Atarah broke
the obvious tension. “Do not be alarmed by Leonid’s presence. He
was eager to meet you, Giselle.”
    I looked at
the large man standing in front of me. His eyes were unlike Alex’s.
They were cold and mean. He was undoubtedly beautiful. His
well-formed body and his face were picture perfect. I never
imagined Alex’s father to be so young and attractive. I blushed at
my thoughts, convinced that everyone would know what I was
thinking.
    “ Father,”
Alex said through gritted teeth.
    “ Alexander, I believe there is much excitement surrounding
your new mate. However, I’m concerned that you have been neglecting
your own well-being by allowing her to feed so ravenously from
you.”
    Leonid eyed
me with disapproval, and I wanted to curl
up, and cry like a baby. There was something disconcerting about
his presence, and it didn’t help the already tense
situation.
    “ Father, it was I who insisted that she feed from me. I do
not like the thought of her relying on other sources. I am fine,”
Alex snapped back.
    “ I think you misunderstand me. I forbid you to be her only
source. You have a glamorised vision that the pair of you can feed
off of each other without consequences.” He paced back and forth,
his eyes darkening with anger.
    Alex walked
past his mother with clenched fists. “You cannot forbid something
that is already at work. I can feel our bond strengthening. By the
next full moon, Giselle will have completed the third phase, and
will be my mate. We will share the blood oath, and we will be
equals!” Alex smiled at me, his fangs glistening in the dimly lit
room.
    Leonid
laughed raucously. “Son, you have much to learn. She is a new breed
of vampire, one whose heart still beats. She, unlike you, cannot
withstand the blood loss. Remember, she is unaware of her true
desires. Spiritual vampires desire the life energy of their
victims. The blood is just a bonus. You risk much more than your
own existence. Her creation is for the future of our kind, not just
as your soul mate. You will do as I say. That is my final word on
the matter.” He finished, momentarily glancing over at me as he
left the room.
    I could feel
Alex’s anger as he flipped the table over. In all the time I had
known him, I had never seen so much rage. He scared me. This was
not the boy I had considered to be my best friend; this was
something else. Standing with my back against the wall, I did not
dare to move. I simply watched as he tore the room
apart.
    Atarah
turned her back on him, and looked me in the eye. “It’s times like
this when you realise the animal still lurks deep within one’s
heart. He does not command the experience to control his raw
emotions. He is young, like you, and has yet to learn that things
cannot be rushed. You will do as Leonid instructed, but if you were
to, let’s say, offer yourself to