Leaving the council chambers after the hearing, I make my way into Christopher’s office. He sits triumphantly, like he just won the war. “I can’t believe she had the balls to challenge you. Why didn’t you tell me she was your sister though, Bianca? You made me look like an idiot.” He asks, confused.
Walking over, I perch myself on the edge of the desk in front of him before kicking off my heels. He runs his hands up my thighs, it makes my skin crawl having his filthy paws on me.
“Because it didn’t matter, I thought she died when I took my nephew. Seems my father was right, though. Vampire DNA does still affect the human body after death.” I tell him.
His hands go higher, pushing my skirt up, and I see his eyes light up with arousal as he catches sight of my lace panties. “Are you worried about the challenge?” He asks, looking up at me.
“No, I was at first but then I realized she no longer has her magic.” Christopher nods, before tugging me onto his lap, making me straddle him. I can feel his erection pressing against my lace panties through his pants.
“So, she was a witch like her mother then?” He asks against my neck, nipping at my skin.
“Yes, but I can tell she lost her magic. She seems different, almost human,” I ponder over my words. Maybe things really are going to work out now.
“And you’re sure you can kill her? She is still your flesh and blood.” He asks, pulling back slightly.
“If I could kill my father, whom I loved, I can kill a newborn vampire. I have no attachment to her.” I lie easily.
I do have an attachment to the girl, a weird one. If we had been a normal family, I may have loved her like a sister. We are very similar, especially in appearance, dads genes are obviously strong. But we are complete opposites: she is everything I used to want to be before I got blindsided by immortality, blindsided with anger.
“Okay, but you need to win. I want them to pay for what they did to my son. And I sure as hell don’t want Josiah taking that position. The people love him, and if he does, everything I have built will fall apart, I don’t need him challenging me for the head seat,” he says, before sucking on my skin.
I nod in agreement. “Well, I need to prepare, and Max will be by soon, I don’t think you want your son finding out about our arrangement.” I tell him, standing.
“We will tell him after the challenge, it will upset him, but he will come around,” he says smiling deviously.
I smile back, hiding the disgust I feel towards the man, before walking out. Heading home, I open the door to my two-story duplex. My favorite place is here where I can relive the memories of my childhood. We didn’t live here all the time, we had a house outside the council, but my father would sometimes bring us here and the memories here are only good. Going to the fridge, I feel excitement bubble up as I grab a blood bag before walking to the door in the hall. Opening it, his familiar scent hits me, making all the tension in my body leave.
I walk down the stairs, no matter how many years he has been locked here, he is always happy to see me. I toss him the bag and sit on the seat outside his cell.
“How is my angel today?” He asks.
“Good, daddy.”
“When are you going to let me out?” He asks, flicking the TV in the corner of his cell off. He asks every time I come down here, hoping I will release him. My father doesn’t understand he is safest here.
“Soon, but I need to tell you something, please understand. It’s about Imogen.”
His head perks up. I have never mentioned her to him since I trapped him here. The love and excitement that burns brightly in his eyes make me a little jealous. But it is time he knows about what has become of his daughter, time he finds out she gave him an adorable grandson.
Imogen
The next week passes by quickly, Astral comes by a few times to teach me about my magic. To say it has been a learning experience is an understatement. My magic has no limits and is extremely hard to control once the darkness takes over.
Astral has been teaching me how to regulate my breathing, and self-hypnosis to calm myself. The darkness is there, I can feel it, but it doesn’t taint me the way it did before. Astral seems to think it is because I have found my grounding place. Something to hang onto when I feel myself slipping away.
Even with learning control, Theo and Tobias don’t give me any rest, constantly watching and hovering, it is starting to get on my nerves. We have been arguing a lot and no matter how much I tell them I’m fine, they don’t listen.
They can both feel the darkness inside me, and it scares them. They should feel scared, it is dark and twisted and all-consuming, but with Astral’s help I have it managed and under control. If anyone is struggling, it is Theo. The more he feeds off me, the more severe his mood swings have been.
Astral believes Theo might become addicted to my magic, the same way it affected me, changing him to his most primal urges. So, I haven’t let him feed off me for two days now, which makes Tobias hover over me every time I have Thaddeus, and eventually I’m going to snap.
I have remained quiet over it, tried to ignore it and even bitten my tongue, but eventually it will become too much. I don’t need them mothering me, suffocating me. I just need them to be there when I need them, and right now I feel smothered.
I’m about to go to war with Bianca; I don’t want to be fighting them at home.
Astral and I have just come in from training. She has been teaching me how to control the surrounding elements, mainly air. Ways to manipulate it and I’m pretty good with it now, it feels comfortable. Not like the time we worked with fire, which is angrier and when I first started learning, we both nearly lost our eyebrows that first day. I singed Tobias’ precious garden and burnt a hole in his perfectly manicured lawn.
Saying goodbye to Astral, I watch as she drives down the driveway before turning and heading inside. The moment I step inside, I can hear Tobias and Theo arguing over something. Thaddeus is upstairs stirring, so I walk upstairs to check on him.
Opening the bedroom door, he is laying in his new crib, watching his mobile go round.