Page 34 of Theoden
I had fucked four men tonight and I was exhausted. After days of being starved, to be so sated left me feeling euphoric. I slumped over, collapsing into Ara’s arms. He cradled me the way one would do a small child, stroking my hair lovingly.
“You will feed once more tonight, then clean up the remnants of your meal. After you have finished with that, you will come to bed and sleep during the day,” Ara instructed.
I nodded and snuggled more into his embrace. This level of intimacy was something I had never experienced before. I didn’t have a mother to coddle me as a child. Nor did I have a father to comfort me. Why I felt so needy for such interactions now, I didn’t know, but I relished it.
“That is because you know that it is genuine coming from me. You have been selfishly sheltered, my child. Denied such simple pleasures and explorations. You are like an infant and must now learn how to be a man,” Ara said, then he lifted me so I was looking into his eyes. “You are a vampire now, Théoden. You will hunt and kill every night to sate your thirst. You will do so without remorse or mercy. However, you will feed sexually only from your family, as no human will be able to satisfy you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Father.” I wasn’t sure how to hunt, but I knew I would need to feed. Perhaps, I could hunt the taverns.
“You will feed on all humans regardless of their station in life. Indulge in the essence of their blood, savor the flavor each will offer,” Ara said.
“Yes, Father.”
“Good. This is good.” He climbed out of the bed and pointed to a human male that Karim was holding. I hadn’t even noticed the human was in the room while I had fucked Nolan. “He is yours. Show no mercy.”
This time, I was expected to kill without anything extenuating driving me. No rage, like when I had killed Samuel and no blind hunger like when I had slaughtered those six humans earlier. I was expected to feed with sound mind and show no kindness to this innocent human. I could read his mind, he was a husband and father and had spent his days farming.
I knew if I had disappointed Ara, he would force me into a silver bath and… no… that must never happen. I climbed out of the bed, resolved to do what I must, for his life wasn’t greater than my own. Sparing him wouldn’t save him, but would only damn me. I stopped thinking about the morality of the act I was about to commit and only accepted the fact that it was evitable. Vampires fed on humans, as I was about to do.
I approached the male, kneeling in front of him. Grabbing his chin and ignoring his pleas, I forced his head to the side, exposing his throbbing vein. I felt my fangs extend and I plunged them into his neck. He cried out in pain… at first… then as I continued to feed, I noticed he began to moan in pleasure.
It was a reaction I hadn’t noticed before with my other kills. Perhaps because with those, I had been savage, ripping into their flesh in a feeding frenzy. Now, I was taking my time, savoring his delicious blood as it flowed into me, filling my body with life and ecstasy.
The man shook against me, his hard cock splattering his seed over my leg as I fed, and his convulsions and whimpers faded as I drank the last drop of his blood. I pulled back, licking my lips. The room was blurry as I floated, filled with such pleasure.
“Come back to me, Théoden.” I heard Ara’s voice and I forced myself to turn toward him. “Do not let the pleasure of the feeding leave you so vulnerable. While out hunting, you should always remain aware of your surroundings.”
The more he spoke, the harder I concentrated until the blissful sensation left me and I was of sound mind again. “How do I not, Father?”
“As you feed, focus on your victim, his or her heartbeat, the cadence. It will keep you from swooning. There are times when you can indulge in such rapture, however, out hunting is not one of them,” Ara explained.
“I understand, Father.”
“Good. You did very well, I am pleased. Now, you will clean and we will leave you to it,” Ara said.
“Father, where do I put the bodies?” I asked.
“Bury them, Théoden.”
At that, he and my brothers left the room and I was tasked with removing seven bodies and cleaning blood and other muck from the rug. It would have been easier to simply wrap the bodies in the rug and toss it all out. I was stronger than any human, and I knew I was faster as well. I didn’t know of all of my skills, but I was anxious to discover them.
In the meantime, I left the palace, which was bigger than the first one I had gone to. It was my first time having a chance to explore it. It was truly beautiful with its painted murals, colorful columns, and marble floors. The furniture and artwork were all handcrafted and sculpted. Truly a place where wealth was celebrated
Outside, I found a spot under a tree where I could bury the bodies. Using my strength, I was able to dig a deep hole faster than if I’d been human. Once I was done, I began to place the corpses and their parts inside the hole, then I covered them up. That was one task done. While doing it, I didn’t think about who those men were. They were dead and from what I was learning, I wasn’t allowed to feel guilt for their deaths. Doing so would only anger Ara.
It was best not to think of them at all. They were food and nothing more; that was what I had to accept. The more I did, the easier this life would be for me. I began to clean the rug with the soap and water that was left for me and that took hours. So much so, Ara returned with Nolan and Titus.
“I am impressed,” Ara said, looking over my work.
I was on my hands and knees scrubbing blood from the fabric. I hated this fucking rug and wished I could have just buried it with the bodies.
Ara laughed. “This rug is centuries older than you are. You will finish your task before you are allowed to sleep.”
With that, he and my brothers climbed into the bed and I watched as they seemed to take their own positions with Ara in the middle. Nolan was at his right with his arms wrapped around Ara’s waist. Titus was on the left, but with a space between him and Ara, and I wondered if that space was for me.
“It is,” Ara said from his lounging position, but he didn’t open his eyes when addressing me. “Finish.”
That one command spoke volumes and I quickly continued to scrub the rug clean until every drop of blood and seed was out of the threads. Never did I want to feed in this room again, or at least not on this rug. And If I did, I would make sure never to make a mess. My fingers actually ached from all of the scrubbing. Had I been human, they would have been bloody. I supposed that was something I should also be grateful for. As a child, I had once scrubbed a rug until my fingers bled and the priests only said I should endure the pain as it would make me a stronger warrior. They had tended to the wounds and sent me to bed.
Only on the rarest occasions was I ever shown any compassion, and only from Fathers Quintus and Lucinius. It had hardened me to a point, but I wasn’t prepared for what Ara would offer. I climbed into the bed, taking my place beside Ara for the second time and once again, I felt that connection, and it drew me closer to him.
I draped my arm across his chest and rested my head on the pillow and he pulled me closer so my head was now on his shoulder. I knew, without a doubt, I would never challenge him again as I was his. No more confusion about who my allegiance belonged to. God or Ara, the answer was Ara.
“It is good that you have finally accepted that truth, my son. Tomorrow, we will begin your training,” Ara said.
“Training?” I asked. “With you, Father?”
Ara chuckled softly. “No, with Titus.”
The one who had fucked me the hardest, his brutal thrusts both painful and pleasurable, mostly pleasurable. I could only imagine what his training would be like. However, I was prepared. In the Church, all I did was train, for the most part. I was their weapon after all, they always wanted me fit and ready for war. I wasn’t worried about Titus’ training, I was looking forward to it.
