Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

EVER

M y whole body ached.

As I blinked myself awake, prying my eyes open and expecting to be surrounded by trees, my heart dropped through my ass. I was back in the mansion, laying in the enormous, ornate bed I recognized from the primary bedroom. The room was dark, the only light spilling in from the cracked door in the corner, but it was clear I was alone.

Thoughts of Corvin catching me and fucking me in the woods had my mind spinning, heat sinking through me. My cock twitched, and heat crept up my neck. I'd enjoyed every second of it so fucking much, but it felt like some kind of fever dream.

Confused, I tried to sit up quickly, but was immediately jerked backward by the wrist. Pain shot through my shoulder, and I struggled to right myself, fighting to see what held me in place. An ancient pair of handcuffs had me bound to the headboard.

"Son of a bitch," I groaned, jerking at the metal in vain. Like the time I woke up wrapped in chains, I knew the cuffs wouldn't budge.

I looked around frantically, searching for anything I could use to try and pick the lock, and noticed for the first time that I wasn't wearing what I passed out in. My flannel shirt and jeans had been replaced by a vintage, flowy white shirt and a pair of boxers.

What the hell?

Not only had Corvin brought me back to the manor, but he'd changed my clothes. How the hell had I remained unconscious for all that?

Unfortunately, there was nothing within reach I could use to try and break free of my restraint. The closest table was across the room. I groaned in frustration. If I was going to get out of the cuffs, someone was going to have to set me free.

A switch flipped in my brain, suddenly struck with an idea.

"Edith!"

It was a long shot. The beautiful piano melody wasn't echoing through the manor like before, and there was no telling if she was even here. Maybe she'd gone out to patrol the woods? Maybe she came and went as she pleased? Corvin hadn't said much about her, but something told me the vampire Lord wasn't awake yet. She was possibly my only hope.

"Edith!" This time I called louder, my voice reverberating off every surface in the room.

I sighed. If she wasn't here, I'd have to wait. How long? I had no idea, but I wasn't looking forward to it. If it was early morning, I'd have to wait until Corvin woke up after sunset.

I was liable to gnaw my own arm off before that, though.

Just as I was about to give up hope, a shadow shifted in the doorway, gently nudging the door open wider. Edith stood there in a floor-length maroon gown, her vibrant hair braided over one shoulder.

"You're alive," she said, sounding surprised. "You're obviously tougher than you look; I thought for sure the Lord had killed you."

I opened my mouth to argue at the insult, but decided against it. Her opinion of me was irrelevant, as much as mine was of her.

"Where is Corvin?" I blurted, fighting against my aching muscles to sit up and swing my legs off the side of the mattress.

"Sleeping."

Fair, I'd figured as much.

"What time is it? When will he wake up?" I asked, trying to stay calm even though panic was bubbling beneath my skin.

"The Lord rises at night," she said, not bothering to move deeper into the room. She lingered next to the doorway, watching me with curious eyes. "We still have a few hours yet."

"Can you at least take the cuffs off?" I asked, flailing my arm to jingle the restraint obnoxiously. "I swear I won't try to run; It's not like I would get far anyway."

"I'm under strict orders?—"

"Please, Edith," I begged. I'd already lost every shred of dignity I had; I wasn't above groveling. "Tell him I picked the lock. Something, anything . I won't leave your sight."

She sighed and slowly crossed the room. Relief exploded through me as she produced an old metal key from a pocket in her dress.

"You really are more trouble than you're worth, you know that, right?" she muttered as she unlocked the cuff. The second my hand was free, I massaged the feeling back into my sore wrist. "If you run, I'll kill you myself."

The venom in her voice was enough to squash any thoughts I'd had of running. Besides, as much as I wanted to get out of these woods and back to my boring life, I wanted to see Corvin again. The more I thought about him, the more I wanted to see him, like the mere idea of him was enough to light my blood on fire.

If I knew where he slept, I would have headed straight there just to see him. I would watch him sleep, admiring his perfect features while I waited. Maybe I'd even crawl in bed with him…

"You'll feel that way for a couple of days after he feeds on you," Edith said abruptly, cutting off my thoughts as she stuffed the key back into her pocket. "It's normal."

"Excuse me?" I cocked a brow at her. Surely, she hadn't read my mind. "Like what?"

"Like you want him to fuck your brains out repeatedly," she said with a straight face. "Like you want to spend every waking second in his bed."

My eyes grew wide. "I didn't say… No, I just?—"

"I can smell your pheromones." The corner of her mouth ticked upward. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

I blanched, hating how right she was. I couldn't control my libido, couldn't rein in the feral urges tearing through me. All I could do was stare, knowing that she knew exactly what I was feeling.

"Does he feed on you too?" The question flew out of my mouth before I could stop it. I shouldn't have cared, but the thought of Corvin fucking his other servants lit a jealous fire in me that I didn't understand.

Thankfully, she shook her head. "No. Not in many years."

I wanted to pry, wanted to ask what happened or what changed to make Corvin to not feed on her anymore, but I bit my tongue. She was a stunning woman. I wouldn't have been surprised if they had some kind of history together, but the thought of him fucking her the way he fucked me last night is enough to turn my stomach.

I cleared my throat and changed the subject. "Where are my things? My backpack? My cell phone?"

"We have everything you need here in the manor." Her voice was dry.

I shifted back and forth, anxiety eating at me from the inside. "It's not that. I…I just want to text my mom and let her know I'm okay. She'll be so worried; She'll probably come looking for me, and I just want to tell her to stay away from the woods. Please, I don't want her to get hurt."

Edith's gaze burned into mine as she contemplated my words, and I hoped with every fiber of my being that she had an ounce of empathy left after all these years. She was cold and distant, and I couldn't get a read on her. I took a shaky breath, prepared to drop to my knees and beg if I had to.

"You really are more trouble than you're worth," she huffed, glancing back into the hall as though Lord Dupont would suddenly appear. "You can have your phone. Nothing else."

"Deal." It was better than nothing, and the thought of reassuring my mother calmed the worst of my nerves. At least, if she knew I was alright, she wouldn't worry. I could tell her to bring the police and come find me, but I feared what Corvin would do to them all.

And, if I was brutally honest, I didn't want them to find him. Not yet.

It was stupid, and I probably should have wanted to burn the place to the ground, but whatever spell the vampire's venom had put me under made me hesitant. I'd figure everything out again after I saw him. Hopefully.

Edith turned to leave the room and I made to follow her, but she whipped around in a blink. "Stay here," she warned. "Don't leave this room until I come back."

I opened my mouth to argue, but closed it just as quickly. I was lucky she was helping me at all—she had no reason to—and I wasn't going to screw things up by whining. Instead, I nodded, and rooted myself to the spot.

Edith wasn't gone long, and when she returned, she shoved my cell phone at me hastily. My heart leapt into my throat as I unlocked the screen, but then crashed a second later when I looked at the battery life. It had two percent left.

Shit .

There were half a dozen missed calls and just as many text messages, most from my mom and a few from worried coworkers. I hadn't missed a single day of work since I started at the print shop until today. I was going to be in so much trouble—I'd most certainly get fired if I didn't get back to town and explain myself—but I'd worry about that later. I was only focused on one thing.

I opened the messages from my mother, my eyes poring over them eagerly. She mentioned a new storage building to put some of her things and how we needed to do lunch again at a new place in town. The last message asked ‘are you ok?' and I froze.

Physically, I was fine. Mentally, I wasn't sure. I didn't have time to explain much, and even as I read the messages, the battery dropped to one measly percent.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I whispered, quickly tapping out a reply.

Me: I'm fine. Went camping and lost signal for a while. Don't worry. Love you lots.

I hit send without hesitation, and the screen went black a second later. If I'd waited any longer, the phone would have died, and I wouldn't have been able to text her at all. It was a tiny relief, a way to placate my nerves until I figured out what the fuck I was going to do. Reluctantly, I handed the phone back to Edith. I didn't have a use for it anymore.

"You're probably hungry," she said, gesturing to the hall. "Come, let's find you something."

At that exact moment, my stomach rumbled. I had no idea how long it had been since I'd eaten, but I was suddenly starving. Without a word, I followed her.

The kitchen was the most updated room in the house, with electric appliances. Someone—probably Edith—had to make occasional grocery runs, because there was at least a little food in the kitchen. I ate a can of soup warmed on the stove.

Afterward, Edith suggested I bathe, and I couldn't agree more. I was still covered in dirt and grime and dried blood. She showed me back to my room and the enormous en suite bathroom, and I tasted bile when I saw my reflection in the gold-framed mirror.

I looked like fucking hell.

Twin bite marks on either side of my neck were crusted with dried blood, smears of it dripping down my skin. I had bags under my eyes, despite all the sleep I'd gotten, and my skin looked pale, sickly. My hair was a tangled mess, dusted with dirt from rolling around outside.

What the fuck did he do to me?

"If you need anything, I'll be down the hall," Edith assured me before disappearing again.

Carefully, I peeled off my clothes and settled into a hot bath, taking my time to scrub every inch of skin. The bite marks ached, but not as much as I thought they would. Would he feed from me again when he woke? Or did he only need to feed occasionally? Edith said he hadn't fed from her in a while, but I hadn't seen anyone else around the manor.

I went under water, my head spinning with questions.

Everything will make sense when I see Corvin again.

I had to keep telling myself that so I wouldn't spiral. That's all I needed was to have a full mental breakdown after everything that had happened.

No, everything would make sense shortly.

It had to.

After poking around in the primary bedroom, I found more clothes neatly folded in a drawer. I pulled on a dark pair of pants and a loose-fitting maroon shirt. It wasn't something I'd normally wear, but the other clothes were far too vintage for my taste. They looked incredible on Corvin who looked like he was plucked from another century, but I felt like I was dressing up in a costume.

By the time I finished getting dressed, the sun was setting outside. Through the curtained windows I could see the light slowly fading, turning a deep, blood red before eventually giving way to darkness. My stomach knotted, my hands shook, and I paced the room at least a dozen times while I waited.

The desire to tear through the house, searching for wherever Corvin rested during the day, was almost tangible. I'd never been so eager, so hopelessly desperate for someone this way, and if I had to wait much longer I'd combust.

Finally, after my fifteenth lap around the room, the sound of slow, heavy footsteps in the hall caught my attention and I froze. Goosebumps raised on my skin with every deep, hollow click, and I held my breath as I turned toward the doorway.

Standing there, in all his glory, was Corvin.