The Writer
by Laura Spudzmom
Chapter 08
Major's POV
I moved through the labyrinth of underground tunnels with speed, intent on escaping the castle, but more than that, I was determined to escape this feeling that had seized me upon the consummation of my mating.
It was unexpected, stifling almost, and I found the unease of such a soul-deep tie consuming me.
Surely, I had known, as all vampire kind do in this situation, that she was my mate, but I had been able, until now, to maintain a certain distance, to keep myself separate, just as I had throughout my entire existence. I had never felt anything but the barest hint of friendship for anyone and that was by design.
In this life, it was a necessity to be able to cut all ties; to destroy anyone and anything without a second thought, whether they had been considered friend or foe.
I was cold as ice. I trusted no one and nothing, and such a philosophy had served me well, for I still existed while all who had ever stood against me, boldly or surreptitiously, did not.
I jumped up, swiftly moving aside the tunnel cover to exit into a dark alley, turning to replace the cover before gaining the coverage of the deep shadows as I made my way out of Volterra.
I needed blood. I needed to center and ground myself. A hunt would accomplish both. I growled lowly at the damned unfamiliar feeling inside me that refused to abate. Maybe a hunt would help. I sure as hell hoped it would.
I made my way into the questionable part of the city, blending into the darkness, the shadows enfolding me in their embrace as I awaited my prey, still and quiet as the death I would soon inflict.
It wasn't long until I perceived the scent of my meal, the slightly shuffling footfalls, the wet thud of a beating heart and finally the subtle waves of heat emanating from skin.
Reaching out, too fast for them to register or comprehend, I enfolded my meal in my arms, my fangs sinking deeply into soft flesh, piercing with precision the jugular vein with a purr of satisfaction as their life force rushed over mytongue and down my throat, their delayed panic slowly sweetening the taste as they quietly died in my arms.
Not really looking at the slackened body, I hefted it over my shoulder and made my way out of the city, finally dumping it down an old abandoned well. It would be quite some time before it was discovered there, if ever and such a disposal wouldn't draw the attention of the humans. Burning was always a risky measure, especially with today's advances in forensic science. It took a very hot fire to burn a body thoroughly, and without burning an entire structure, it was difficult to achieve the heat required.
I took my time getting back to the city. Why hurry? I had all night and I wasn't exactly anxious to get back to the castle.
As long as Isabella stayed in my quarters with Pete and Char watching over her, she was safe and I didn't think that she would be stupid enough to try to venture out. She may have a mouth on her, but I could tell that she was very smart and possessed of a healthy will to live which would serve her well.
I recognized many similarities between us in that respect and found myself being pleased by that at least, even ifthis… feeling… whatever the hell it was, still plagued me.
Jumping silently to a rooftop, I found a chimney to lean against and took out a pack of smokes, quickly lighting oneand watching as the smoke twisted and curled away from me in the cool night air as I exhaled slowly, my head restingback against the bricks.
My thoughts quickly shifted away from the patterns of smoke and back to Isabella.
My mate.
Shit.
A sinking feeling suffused me as I came to the grudging realization that she was now my weakness; the only one I'd ever had and the reality of that filled me with dread and anger.
It had been drilled into me from the moment of my waking to this life, that mates were a liability, something to be avoided. It was why mated pairs in Maria's army were always destroyed. They became focused on each other rather than their intended purpose which was killing other vampires and you couldn't kill just one of the pair as the mate left alive would go insane, destroying everything in rage until they were destroyed.
It had been why Peter had hidden his mate connection with Charlotte all those years ago and it had been why he had escaped with her the night she was due to be destroyed.
Looking back on that time, I still wasn't sure why I had let them get away with it and then ultimately let them go.
Perhaps it was because I had been so fed up with Maria, or it was due to the feelings of malevolence that I could feel running in a current just under the surface of her emotions towards me. Either way, I had known that our time together was coming to an end. She'd known for quite some time at that point that her hold over me was nonexistent, any control she'd ever had over me, a thing of the past and it scared her. I wasn't stupid. I knew that a frightened Maria took drastic measures to eliminate the source of her discomfort and so I'd known that it was coming down to a face off between us and I'd been determined, as I'd always been, that it wouldn't be me who lost in the conflict.
She'd finally tried to lure me into a trap with the promise of blood and sex and she'd almost succeeded in masking her deceit.
Almost.
I smirked as I thought of fucking her for the last time, taking everything she gave while giving nothing in return, my gift making sure that she didn't so much as enjoy the feel of my cock inside her, as I flooded her with fear.
I had watched in morbid satisfaction as she gasped, eyes widened in horrified comprehension just before I came and removed her head in the next second, her twitching body falling to the floor as I tucked in and buttoned up.
She'd never had time to signal her minions to attack, so taking care of them had been easy and I'd tossed them into the cabin with her, lighting the whole thing up and walking away without a look back.
That was a rule of mine; never look back and I never had.
Until today.
Until Isabella and this unbreakable tie that now bound us for eternity.
Fuck.
Major's POV
I moved through the labyrinth of underground tunnels with speed, intent on escaping the castle, but more than that, I was determined to escape this feeling that had seized me upon the consummation of my mating.
It was unexpected, stifling almost, and I found the unease of such a soul-deep tie consuming me.
Surely, I had known, as all vampire kind do in this situation, that she was my mate, but I had been able, until now, to maintain a certain distance, to keep myself separate, just as I had throughout my entire existence. I had never felt anything but the barest hint of friendship for anyone and that was by design.
In this life, it was a necessity to be able to cut all ties; to destroy anyone and anything without a second thought, whether they had been considered friend or foe.
I was cold as ice. I trusted no one and nothing, and such a philosophy had served me well, for I still existed while all who had ever stood against me, boldly or surreptitiously, did not.
I jumped up, swiftly moving aside the tunnel cover to exit into a dark alley, turning to replace the cover before gaining the coverage of the deep shadows as I made my way out of Volterra.
I needed blood. I needed to center and ground myself. A hunt would accomplish both. I growled lowly at the damned unfamiliar feeling inside me that refused to abate. Maybe a hunt would help. I sure as hell hoped it would.
I made my way into the questionable part of the city, blending into the darkness, the shadows enfolding me in their embrace as I awaited my prey, still and quiet as the death I would soon inflict.
It wasn't long until I perceived the scent of my meal, the slightly shuffling footfalls, the wet thud of a beating heart and finally the subtle waves of heat emanating from skin.
Reaching out, too fast for them to register or comprehend, I enfolded my meal in my arms, my fangs sinking deeply into soft flesh, piercing with precision the jugular vein with a purr of satisfaction as their life force rushed over mytongue and down my throat, their delayed panic slowly sweetening the taste as they quietly died in my arms.
Not really looking at the slackened body, I hefted it over my shoulder and made my way out of the city, finally dumping it down an old abandoned well. It would be quite some time before it was discovered there, if ever and such a disposal wouldn't draw the attention of the humans. Burning was always a risky measure, especially with today's advances in forensic science. It took a very hot fire to burn a body thoroughly, and without burning an entire structure, it was difficult to achieve the heat required.
I took my time getting back to the city. Why hurry? I had all night and I wasn't exactly anxious to get back to the castle.
As long as Isabella stayed in my quarters with Pete and Char watching over her, she was safe and I didn't think that she would be stupid enough to try to venture out. She may have a mouth on her, but I could tell that she was very smart and possessed of a healthy will to live which would serve her well.
I recognized many similarities between us in that respect and found myself being pleased by that at least, even ifthis… feeling… whatever the hell it was, still plagued me.
Jumping silently to a rooftop, I found a chimney to lean against and took out a pack of smokes, quickly lighting oneand watching as the smoke twisted and curled away from me in the cool night air as I exhaled slowly, my head restingback against the bricks.
My thoughts quickly shifted away from the patterns of smoke and back to Isabella.
My mate.
Shit.
A sinking feeling suffused me as I came to the grudging realization that she was now my weakness; the only one I'd ever had and the reality of that filled me with dread and anger.
It had been drilled into me from the moment of my waking to this life, that mates were a liability, something to be avoided. It was why mated pairs in Maria's army were always destroyed. They became focused on each other rather than their intended purpose which was killing other vampires and you couldn't kill just one of the pair as the mate left alive would go insane, destroying everything in rage until they were destroyed.
It had been why Peter had hidden his mate connection with Charlotte all those years ago and it had been why he had escaped with her the night she was due to be destroyed.
Looking back on that time, I still wasn't sure why I had let them get away with it and then ultimately let them go.
Perhaps it was because I had been so fed up with Maria, or it was due to the feelings of malevolence that I could feel running in a current just under the surface of her emotions towards me. Either way, I had known that our time together was coming to an end. She'd known for quite some time at that point that her hold over me was nonexistent, any control she'd ever had over me, a thing of the past and it scared her. I wasn't stupid. I knew that a frightened Maria took drastic measures to eliminate the source of her discomfort and so I'd known that it was coming down to a face off between us and I'd been determined, as I'd always been, that it wouldn't be me who lost in the conflict.
She'd finally tried to lure me into a trap with the promise of blood and sex and she'd almost succeeded in masking her deceit.
Almost.
I smirked as I thought of fucking her for the last time, taking everything she gave while giving nothing in return, my gift making sure that she didn't so much as enjoy the feel of my cock inside her, as I flooded her with fear.
I had watched in morbid satisfaction as she gasped, eyes widened in horrified comprehension just before I came and removed her head in the next second, her twitching body falling to the floor as I tucked in and buttoned up.
She'd never had time to signal her minions to attack, so taking care of them had been easy and I'd tossed them into the cabin with her, lighting the whole thing up and walking away without a look back.
That was a rule of mine; never look back and I never had.
Until today.
Until Isabella and this unbreakable tie that now bound us for eternity.
Fuck.
DISCLAIMER: Twilight and its inclusive material is copyright to Stephenie Meyer. Original creation, including but not limited to plot and characters, is copyright to the respective authors of each story. No copyright infringement is intended.