When they arrived back in Willow Creek, dawn was just on the horizon. There was no life in Charlotte's body anymore. It was just shortly after they started their long drive, that Rodrick felt the last of her faint breath. If she didn't come back from this as a vampire, then he would have lost her. For the time being, Rodrick was remaining composed while he clung to the glimmer of hope that he had done enough to complete the change. While he was certain he gave her enough of his blood and venom to start the change, he wasn't at all sure if he was too late in giving it to her. All there was left to do now was wait to see if she would rise again in twenty four hours. A painful wait to know if he had lost someone he only just accepted his love for. Rodrick wasn't sure if he could go through another loss like that again. Vincent trailed into his castle behind him while Rodrick moved as swiftly as he could to carry Charlotte up to his room. The castle staff that caught sight of him ascen
Charlotte woke up confused. The last thing she remembered was having a knife pressed to her throat. Shortly after that, everything got foggy, both literally and figuratively. Her memory faded once Rimidal's fog settled in. There were glimpses that she saw in her mind where she thought she saw Lord Hunt there beside her and holding her in his arms. Everything after that went completely black. She had no idea when they arrived back to Willow Creek or for how long she was out. That wasn't the strangest part for her though. It was when she came to her senses in Lord Hunt's bed. Her clothes were different and the way they felt on her body was different. Now dressed in a deep red satin nightgown that only came to her thighs, the smooth material felt cool against her skin. That was not the only thing she noticed that felt odd, it was the sounds. From somewhere nearby, she could have sworn she heard her name being said even though Lord Hunt was the only other person in the room. Then the
Those spoken words were all she needed to pick right back up where she left off. After flashing him a quick smile in return, Charlotte found herself locked back into his embrace. Their lips meeting more passionately and tenderly than they had ever done before. She imagined that if it were still possible, it might have been enough to take her breath away. It wasn't a feeling she was missing out on though because she had become so aware of everything else around her. The touch of his skin under her palms while she smoothed her hands up his chest no longer seemed chilling to her. It felt just like her own and now she was able to fully enjoy every curve of the muscles he hid beneath his clothes. His alabaster skin was so perfectly flawless and carefully chiseled. It didn't stop with the touch of her fingertips. Charlotte eventually moved her eager kisses down to explore his body. Every touch sent her senses wild. It went beyond the tingling she used to feel from his touch. She was so a
The next afternoon, around noon, all of the castle staff was asked to wait in the entrance hall. The request had been made by Rodrick early that morning, after speaking briefly with a maid that stopped by the room to check on him. Just like it started, Rodrick approached the staircase right around the time he requested to find the hall packed. At the moment, he stood alone on the staircase, figuring it would be more impactful this way. Especially since the staff wasn't the only company he requested that afternoon. Vincent was pulled from the room he chose to occupy for the night and asked to stand in on the announcement as well. The other vampire stood near the bottom of the left staircase and looked less than amused to be there. At least, he could say that Vincent didn't give him any trouble when he was the last to arrive among the staff that afternoon. It really did seem like he was trying to bury the hatchet so to speak. Rodrick wasn't going to ask what Serina's ghost said to hi
The train ride was quiet as it passed through the countryside. The only sounds were the clacking and clicking of the wheels on the rails. There weren't many passengers going out this far and she couldn't say she was surprised. Charlotte Barnes was a historian of sorts. It was the older, smaller and quiet little towns that picked up her interest the most.In the last three years, she had found that it was little towns like that that held the most interesting history. Most of the residents of these places were often direct descendants of the founders and knew the stories you wouldn't find in a history book. It was her job to take those stories and make them into interesting books or short films. The media usually depended on what the residents were comfortable with allowing her to do. There were many that didn't want to be bothered with the noise of the public since they had lived their lives so long in seclusion. Those details would be settled on later, once she did all of her rese
The next morning, after Charlotte got her things settled in at the inn, she decided to hit the library first just to see if she could drum up any records of this mysterious vampire lord. There had to be something if he truly had been there for a while. The castle at the end of the main road appeared to be old, so she couldn't imagine that he just moved in a short while ago. Something was telling Charlotte that that castle had been there just as long as Lord Hunt had been occupying it. Now she just needed that proof. Vampires became part of the public just a few centuries ago, according to the research she did on them. The first vampire to announce his existence was the oldest of their kind, he was known as the First Vampire. Ever since he made himself public, the others followed suit and soon enough they became so common that a new set of laws were eventually established in order to hold vampires accountable for the deaths they caused. Those laws stated that a vampire could not leg
She was going to a grand ball, even the thought of it sounded fancier than anything she had ever been to in her life. The invitation, while small, looked as though it had been hand-written. The ink on the card inside was so fine and precise. The person who had written it out, had taken careful time with each and every word. That alone spoke volumes on what kind of event she would be attending. The locals treated it like it was just another festival or something of that nature, but it felt so much more formal than that. Charlotte had all of her things spread out on the bedspread. The ball was in just a few hours and she had no idea what kind of outfit she should wear. Something as grandiose as a ball called for something elegant and regal. Both of which were things she did not necessarily own. The best she had to go with was either a vintage, knee-length dress and a button-up blouse and a pencil skirt. They weren't glamorous by far and she didn't have the time to do any shopping. Af
Lord Hunt's sudden cold shoulder had her bewildered. The only thing she had done was answer his question. The answer seemed innocent enough. There couldn't be any harm in getting to know someone and yet, he had shut down. There had to be an answer to that. Finding those answers might prove to be a little trickier than she thought. Charlotte wasn't done there just yet, she was going to use the chance she had while at this ball to try and find out something. Even if it was just a little bit of a hint on how she might be able to speak with Lord Hunt. Her idea of where to start was with one of his contracted servants. Those that had agreed to work for Lord Hunt as a supplier of live blood. Exactly what their relationship was to their employer, she wasn't sure. Kaleb Mosey had made it sound as though they were treated as nothing more than just regular employees. Something in itself that was unusual for most vampire lords and something that was still worth learning about. She entered t