Bloodl.u.s.t

It takes a moment for him to register what the vampire's statement means, but when it does his eyes widen and his gaze instantly falls upon my neck. Before I can blink, he has crossed the healthy distance between us and is standing very close to me, his eyes intently fixed on the bite marks. His fingers brush against them for merely a second, making my heart almost skip a beat.

What the hell is happening to me?

I drag my eyes away from his flawless face and fix them on something less intense. A low growl escapes his throat and I'm forced to return my eyes to where they were. What I see, drains the blood away from my face. His face twitches in the exact same manner that the vampire's did, his eyes once chocolate brown now appear a dangerous red and his teeth which once made an angelic smile now look nothing more than that of a beast.

He too is a vampire.

Within another second he has moved away from me and is standing right in front of the person who not much long ago tried to throttle me to death.

"You drank from a human?!" his voice is loud, almost deafening. "What the hell were you thinking, Nicholas?" his tone is a mixture of surprise and annoyance.

All he receives in answer is a snort. Nicholas walks away from him and settles himself down comfortably on a king-sized couch placed in the very centre of the room beneath a huge chandelier.

From the corner of my eyes I see Samuel's jaw clench and unclench. He takes in deep breaths probably trying to calm himself but almost fails in doing so. With a less surprised but still annoyed tone he speaks again, "What about the vampire council? Don't you know about the rules-"

"I don't care about a stupid council and its stupid rules, Samuel. Besides, I couldn't help it. She's an A-ve! I hope you know it's my favorite." He rolls his eyes.

How the hell does he know my blood-group? He couldn't really have guessed by drinking it, right?

Samuel runs his fingers through his blonde hair and fixes his eyes on me yet again. I raise my brow, waiting for him to say something. His gaze moves from me to Nicholas and back to me. With a 'whoosh', he's standing in front of me yet again. "I'm going to feed her my blood and compel her to forget everything."

Before I can protest, he bites his own wrist. He lifts it up very close to my mouth just when to my relief Nicholas interrupts him, "Don't waste your time on that. She can't be compelled."

Horror rises on Samuel's face, "What?! She's on vervain?"

"If she is, do you think I'd be able to drink from her?"

"Then… how?" confusion fills up his eyes only for a moment but then something flashes across his eyes. Realisation.

With a sigh he continues, "You don't mean she's a…?"

Nicholas lifts a finger up to his lip, "Shhh… she can't be compelled. The less she knows the better. And yes, there is a possibility."

"Possibility of what?" I blurt out, unable to keep my mouth shut any longer.

I immediately regret saying anything when I feel hard fingers wrap around my neck, blocking the flow of air to my lungs. "Did I say you were allowed to speak?" His grip tightens.