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This is what I know so far. Ben has been taken by the vigore council, to force a meeting with Adrien. Vincent, that creepy new executive has taken nearly all the blood supplies out of London, and is nowhere to be found. And apparently there is a witch here, pestering Adrien because she knows things about Selene. I’m quite fine knowing what I know about vampires, but now I’ve got to accept witches are a real thing too.
I’ve not had the chance to speak with Adrien properly. He’s been so stressed, and he still looks really off. All the way back on the flight, he paced up and down the cabin, making call after call, yelling down the phone, and several times at the pilot. When I did try to talk to him, he just pressed his finger on his lips, like I’m a frigging child.
Adrien surges through the door to our apartment, slamming our bags down by the dining table. This is all wrong, how everything has gone from completely wonderful, to shit. I feel irrelevant, worried, and I’m also angry with him. He needs more blood, and he needs to calm the hell down.
“Adrien,” I call out cautiously. “You need to take a breath. Just sit down until the others arrive. Do you want me to get you a bag?”
I’m kind of squirming inside, watching as he arches over the kitchen worktop. His head is down and his back swells up, like the hulk is about to burst through his shirt. This is like the moment he lost it on our first trip to Killiecrankie. When he couldn’t handle the appeal of my blood in that room, and I had no clue who he was. He didn’t want me anywhere near him, and this is the same feeling. But we’re married now.
“I want you to go and pack a bag. I’m going to take you to your mom’s house,” he says down to his hands, with no eye contact at all.
“No,” I whisper, trying to be resolute.
“You will go and pack a goddamn bag Elizabeth!” He pushes off the worktop and turns to me. “You will do as I ask.”
Who the fuck is he turning into? This is not who I married. His eyes are so furious with me for not jumping to attention, and following his demands.
Sara and Dom suddenly appear, walking through the icy atmosphere, and the silent lingering argument still going on between us. They both stop beside the couch and scan Adrien and I.
He’s still staring at me, waiting for me to do as I’m told. But I won’t.
“Elizabeth,” he barks.
“No Adrien!” I squeeze my fingers into both hands. “You told me you’d never tell me what to do. I’m not going anywhere.”
He thunders across the room, cajoling me up against the wall. He glares down into my eyes as my lungs fill with nerves. He’s biting down, his jaw virtually churning. And his eyes, they’re blackening in a way I never thought I’d see. He’s allowing his vampire to intimidate me. He grabs my bicep and begins to pull me toward the bedroom.
“Get off me,” I hiss and fight against his hold, my lips shivering as fear sets in.
“What the fuck are you doing Adrien!” Sara appears, and manages to tear Adrien off me.
I back up two steps, panting, feeling my heart breaking into a thousand pieces. Is he sick? Is he just worried I may be hurt? Or is this the real Adrien; the one I’ve never seen and know nothing about?
Adrien pushes Sara back, but almost immediately she slaps him hard around the face. His eyes close, like the strike Sara inflicted on him, has made him fall back down to reality. I silently sob, holding my bicep where his fingers were.
His eyes land on Dom, Sara, then his wounded view takes in my shock and fear. He shakes his head and more tears spill over my cheeks. I can’t look at him. I turn away and charge into the bedroom, slamming the door behind me.
***
I SWILL MY FACE AND raw eyes with cool water, and dry off with a black towel. Adrien appears in the reflection of the mirror, leaning against the door frame, keeping his distance from me. I don’t turn to him. This is safe enough, through the mirror. And yes, vampires have a reflection. How else would they manage to look so groomed and flawless all of the time.
I gulp down, tossing the towel over the edge of the sink. He takes a step closer, but he stops when I unintentionally flinch.
“Fuck Elizabeth. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“You already have.”
“Look at me.”
Well that’s my resolve gone. The desperation in his soft voice has me turning to face him like a frigging puppet.
“Everything I have ever said to you is true. My vows are true. I will always treat you with respect. But I also swore to protect you.” He reluctantly reaches up and places his hand against my cheek, as I briefly break eye contact with him. “But I can’t protect you when everything is turning to shit, and I’ve got to be in several different places at once, sorting out everyone’s damn mess.”
I pull his hand away from my face and look right at him, as again the old dilemma swarms through my mind.
“You need to stop treating me like a child. Hiding me away is never going to work. I can’t be your little fragile wife forever. One day, you’re going to have to turn me,” I state.
He’s fighting back the revulsion at the idea, and his eyes are so conflicted.
“Hell, I know.” He runs his hands down his face. “But I can’t bring you into this now. I can’t protect you when you’re awakening. Fuck Elizabeth. I’m sorry.”
He lowers his head, full of shame. I run my fingers around the back of his neck, pulling his head down to rest on mine.
“I’m going to stay here. You go and find Ben. But please, be careful.”
He blinks slowly, lying his lips on my head.