(Rigel)

Where does the pain end and I begin?

These visits break me in ways that I can’t even describe in words.

My bloodlust has soared to the level that I can attack just about anyone who has a beating heart.

The side effects of the curse have been consuming my soul like termites.

"Stay in your room for a few days." The instructions were passed in the coldest voice I knew that had frozen my heart. It only thawed for Amaia.

"The door will be sealed so no one will come..."

No one is coming for me.

The rage builds like an insatiable monster, and I wonder who I am going to hurt next.

Anyone but her.

If only I could see her but I couldn’t even move. The pain had me immobilised, my body broken, battered.

I drifted in and out of consciousness until I lay awake in the darkness of my room. My throat parched for blood, my body seeking any warmth.

I feel so cold, so empty, so lost.

Something trickles down the bond I share with her. She is agitated, sad, and something is wrong with her.

I try to leave, but I can’t; I am stuck in this prison, in this new hellhole.

And then a miracle happens. The door of my room opens, and her delectable, the most unique scent in the world, seeps inside along with her light.

"Rigel!" She softly but curiously calls.

"Amaia?" My heart almost leaps out of my chest hearing her voice and I finally move.

She walks inside and closes the door behind her. It’s pitch black in my room. Quietly I slither down from the bed and drag myself towards her. With that halo around her, I can see her as clear as the moon in the night sky.

Her scent drives me insane but I push down every instinct. My shadows shoot out of me, hovering over her like a protective shield.

Cold hands of mine find her warm face. So soft, her skin is. The blood roars underneath it, calling me like a siren’s call.

She lets out a sharp breath at my cold touch.

"Rigel, are you alright?" She asks with such deep concern. Her hands land on mine and she holds my hands against her flushed skin.

"I will be, now that you are here, my Sundust." I pull her flush against my starved body and she comes so willingly.

My lips find hers and relief shoots through me the way hers mould against mine. Her hands thread into my hair, and she holds me to herself, answering my kiss with the same passion I hold for her.

My shadows cover both of us, crawling over our skins. They lift her legs up and she wraps them around my waist.

Gently, I carry her to my bed and lay with her back on the mattress. She clings to me and me to her.

The pain dissipates, the frozen heart thaws and her light and warmth seep into me, healing me.

Her supple body clings to me, hands holding onto my face.

"What happened? Tell me what they did to you?" She asks with a fiery determination flashing in her eyes. Those doubts she used to carry seem to have disappeared today.

Longingly I stare at her. She is stronger than she looks and yet my heart shatters thinking of how hurt she will be after learning my truth.

Her hands leave my face and move to my arms and wrists, probing as if trying to find any injuries.

I am a vampire, all physical injuries instantly heal it’s the psychological and emotional ones that remain.

"It’s nothing. Just let me hold you and hear that hymn your blood sings to me."

She lets me hold her, bury my face into her squishy soft chest.

"Is the headmaster or Alnilam involved with whatever is happening to you?" She asks in a harsh voice.

"Amaia, I can’t speak about this."

She lets out a frustrated sigh.

"When will you come back?" She asks, her fingers weave through my hair.

"I don’t know...my bloodlust is very high. It’s not safe for me to be around people."

"Drink from me. It will sate you," she offers, unafraid.

"I can’t, I just did that yesterday. I can’t keep taking your blood."

"A little bit won’t hurt," she insists, determination flashing on her face.

Her scent is already driving me insane. The roar of her elixir in her veins beats against my ears.

There is something about her scent today. Something familiar clings to her, but I don’t know what it is.

Lifting my hand I slowly push away some of her spread hair from her neck.

My mouth salivates and fangs elongate. Her warm breath whispers against my forehead, the insane beats of her heart are a melody like nothing else.

I plunge my fangs deep in the tender flesh of her neck, where a vein lies inviting.

Amaia shudders in my hold, her back arches, head rolls back–giving me more access to her neck.

Her blood hits my system, instantly lowering and confining that bloodlust. The world slows down for me, my senses soothe from the rich taste of her precious red liquid.

I drink but not too much. My fangs retreat, and my lips press on the side of her neck.

Drowsiness washes over me as if I have taken a drug.

"Ah!" She lightly moans, and my leg lands on top of her, pulling her into me.

"Just stay till I fall asleep," I request and she places a soft kiss on the top of my head.

"I am here. Go to sleep."

"Sing to me," I request of her. She smiles at me.

"Of course!"

Her tender lips move and a soft song like a lullaby springs out of her. Such a beautiful melodious voice, she holds. I have never heard such a sweet and soothing voice.

Maybe it’s because she is my mate and everything about her is heightened for me.

The last I hear is her whispering to me, "Sleep now, my Dark Angel." Before I am dragged to the valley of slumber.