Page 76 of Dark Souls

“Wait!” The voice followed me. I gritted my teeth and was about to race away using my vampire speed, but her next words stopped me in my tracks. “She’s not here.”

I paused, my entire body tense and frozen in place. How did she know who I was? How did she even know why I was here?

“You’re here to see Ilaria, right? I’m her Grandma, Maddy. I’d like to say it’s nice to meet you but I’m afraid the jury is still out on that one.”

Keeping my hood up, I slowly turned around to face her, the shadows hiding my features. I almost smiled. I could see where Ilaria got her spunk from as the short woman folded her arms over her chest with attitude. So this was Madeline Romano.

I didn’t speak, just held her angry but slightly intrigued gaze as she looked me up and down with judgment until she settled on my face once again. So Ilaria had told her family about me? That was not good fucking news. The fewer people who knew about me, the better, especially the royals.

She huffed, stepping forward as she signalled to my body and face with her hand. “I get it. I see what you have going on here. You have the whole brooding,I don’t give a fuck about anyone or anythingbad boy act down to perfection, but the very fact you are here, staring longingly up at her window, shows me there is far more to you than that. But like I said, she’s not here. And I don’t know when she’ll be coming back.”

I scowled deeply. “Where is she?”

“Oh, so he does speak,” she mocked, and my eyes flashed a deeper shade of red on instinct. She pushed her shoulders back to hide her fear, but I could smell her sudden anxiety in the air as she swallowed before she continued. “She’s gone. To another realm.”

My lips curled up over my fangs as rage consumed me. “What? Where? Why?” I snarled, stepping forward. She was in a different fucking realm? But I only saw her two days ago!

She held up her hands to stop me. “Woah. Take a breath. Trust me when I say you do not want to meet my mate, Ilaria’s grandpapi, under these circumstances.”

Knowing she was right and that if she felt threatened, her fear would trigger warning bells for her mate; I forced myself to calm down and took a step back. Her eyes flicked down to my combat boots and she gestured for more distance. I took another step back and she visibly relaxed.

“You seem very on edge, which is understandable. The mate bond is hard to fight, which is clearly what you are trying to do. And if I might say so myself, failing miserably at it.” She lifted the side of her lips into a small smile, but my body was wound too tightly, like a spring, to relax at her attempt to lighten the mood. “She is in a realm called Heroux. It’s the realm of wolves and witches. She has gone to help her brothers with something important.” She gave me the clear facts and I appreciated it. It allowed my rage to simmer to agitation.

“When will she be back?”

“I don’t know. Time moves differently over there. She left yesterday. Only a few hours would have passed in Heroux, while it’s been over twenty-four hours here.”

I inhaled deeply, trying to remind myself to stay calm and not give into the darkness that was clawing to come to the surface. Maddy held her hand up cautiously before placing it on her chest. “When my mate feels close to the edge of losing control, closing his eyes and counting his heartbeats helps to calm him. It gives him something to focus on other than the darkness. Do you want to try it?”

I stared at her blankly. Did I look like someone that wanted to fucking meditate?

“Is she safe?”

Maddy hesitated. “I am sure she is.”

“You hesitated.” I pointed my finger at her face and her eyes widened. “Why did you hesitate? Is she not safe? Is she in danger?”

“No, and yes. The realm is… dangerous. There is a war happening there. But she is only there to deliver a book, see her brothers and then she should be back.”

I closed my eyes. I counted my heartbeats. No. This shit did not work.

“No one else knows about you. She’s only told me. Do you have a message for her? When she gets back, I can tell her you came.”

I opened my eyes and held her hopeful gaze. I pushed down my hood, roughing up my dark red hair as she took it in with a small smile.

“No message. It’s best you pretend you never saw me. That I never came.”

“Yeah. I’m not going to do that.”

“So, you’re to blame,” I muttered under my breath but her wolf's hearing picked it up.

“Sorry?”

“The sass? The stubbornness? She gets it from you.”

She chuckled a little. “And her mother. But Ilaria is one of a kind. She’s determined to a fault. I know you don’t want my advice and probably won’t even listen to it but just in case, know this. That girl loves with all the fire in her belly. You will never regret having her in your life. She may drive you crazy. She will test you daily. And if you hide from her, she will hunt you down to the ends of the Earth. She’s fierce, strong, loyal and a little insane. Fighting your connection and pushing her away will only hurt you both and cause too much unnecessary pain. I speak from experience. I don’t know your reasons for fighting your bond, but I do know you won’t win. You will give in eventually. The very fact that you are here now just proves it. So, don’t hurt her for no reason. She can handle whatever it is that haunts you. You’ll be stronger together. But she won’t handle another rejection. She is not invincible. You break her heart again, and you’ll lose her forever. So, think carefully about your next actions.”

“I have no humanity,” I blurted. The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I live in constant darkness. I don’t feel things like others do. I can’t love her. I’m not capable of it. She doesn’t know what she’d be getting herself into by being with me. She thinks she knows but she doesn’t. I am not someone she can love or am I deserving of it. And I can’t change. She won’t fix me. I’m beyond saving.”

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