LUCIEN’S POV
I sat at my dining table staring into blank space. For days on end, after my classes, I had become someone who was buried deep in thoughts. The events of the last few days were just so haunting and I couldn’t get rid of the no matter how I tried. Adria laying there alone was one of the major cause of my distress. Zayne, on the other hand, was preparing to leave and as I saw him prepare, it suddenly made me feel I was going to be all alone. He hadn’t spent much time with me but I couldn’t help feeling my house would not be the same.
I had found Adria but was plunged with deep sadness. A lot of things had happened to her with Monica and nothing I could do would change that. The memories would get stuck in her brain.
As each day passed, Adria seemed to be getting worse. She had a lot of bones peeking out and her lips were always pale and cracked. Her eyes seemed deep-rooted in their sockets and her voice grew fainter and weaker by the day.
I could see that she was going. How was I ever to cope with the pain of losing her. I wanted to hang onto the hope that she wasn’t dead yet but then I would be shattered if those hopes also shattered.
I didn’t know what was keeping Adria alive because she was meant to be dead. The bite of werewolves was quite fatal to humans and in less than a day, most of them wind up dead and already Adria was living her seventh day after being bitten.
Did she just have good resilience or the goddess was making me pay for my mistakes by watching her die slowly? I had missed the careless sound of her laughter, her being naughty and playful, her wanting to read, and her focused expression while reading. If there was anything I could do to save her then I would. It hurt seeing her grow farther and farther away from what she used to be. In a little while, I was going to visit her and couldn’t deny the fact that I was scared she was going to look even worse or maybe even die in my presence.
“You shouldn’t think too much of it.” Zayne said, approaching with his little bag which contained the things I had bought for him. “There might still be a way to save her and if she eventually has to go, I promise time heals wounds and would heal you.” He comforted, but I was too deep in my sadness for the light of his words to reach out to me.
“Yeah, thanks.” I replied, and we both got into his car not saying much. We drove out of New Orleans and when I had gone far enough to return, I stopped him and patted him on the back.
“Take care.” I managed to say and he watched me intently.
“I appreciate you saying that but I think I should be saying it. Don’t let it weigh you down. If those nasty vampires see a sign of weakness, trust me they will strike.” He replied, taking his hands off the steering wheel and I nodded.
“I will take care. You do that too.” I said to him and left his car. Zayne watched me until I had gotten a taxi and we gave our final goodbyes. It wasn’t like we were parting forever, we were still going to talk on the phone and meet whenever I made it back to the Kingdom but of course, goodbyes were hard.
On my way to visit Adria, I went back to that night. If I hadn’t killed Monica, would I be satisfied handing her over to her family? Her parents were yet to know about her being dead and I wondered how well they would take that information.
Zayne had told me to be wise about it and choose the option that wouldn’t endanger others because even though Alpha Grayson’s pack wasn’t as strong as my pack, just as Zayne said, some innocent lives would be lost.
Even if Alpha Grayson knew the cost of fighting and the chances of losing, he would still fight because Monica was his only daughter—one he had been proud of in every way.
I was so lost in thoughts that I didn’t even know when I had arrived at my destination.
“Young man, we’re here.” The driver called to my attention and I snapped out of my thoughts and dipped my hand into my pocket to get my wallet. I got out of the car, paid him, and watched him leave before walking to the door of Adria’s house and ringing the doorbell. After a full minute, the door was opened, and I saw Adria’s mum. She herself was getting paler by the day.
She moved back and let me in before closing the door.
“The kids just left. She’s asleep. Would you still like to see her?” She asked, and I nodded. It didn’t matter if she was sleeping. As long as she wasn’t dead.
I went up to Adria’s room silently and sat next to her. He expression was peaceful and calm and I put a hand to her nose to check if she was breathing.
Yes she was… although it was faint.
Very faint, like she was barely breathing.
Then after a while of watching her, she began to stir and the expression on her pale face shifted to one of discomfort. I pushed back the curtains wondering if she was heated up, and there was a picture on the window sill. I picked it up and it was only when I stared at it that the memory I what Adria really looked like before the whole ordeal came back to me.
She had been so pale that it had almost replaced the real face she had.
Her face had been plump, and bright with roses in her lips but at the moment, she had whitish lips, bones sticking out sharply and her skin.
It was very pale, almost white. It was like she had no blood. Comparing the photo with her face scared me.
Something was really wrong, she was really dying, and just then, her eyes flew open and she screamed into a sitting position.
“Adria, what’s wrong!?” I asked frantically but she kept on shaking and screaming. Her body was very cold, cold like that of a dead body’s and she was restless.
Her mum ran into the room and started to fiddle with bottles.
She dashed towards Adria and tried to tip it into her mouth but Adria swatted it away, opening her mouth wide and acting like she was biting on something invisible, baring her teeth.
She vibrated real hard and just when I was about to stroke her cheek to calm her down, something odd happened.
She screamed and her canines protruded, growing longer and getting sharp-edged. I stopped in shock, staring at her.
Those weren’t just fangs…
They were vampire fangs.