Chapter 21

Trisha’s P.O.V:

“Lucas…”

“I want the truth, Trisha,” Lucas moved back, his eyes a luminescent bright gold. “I’ve told you this before and I’ll say it again, I like you. And by like I don’t mean just as a person or just your personality. I like you as a woman and I like you enough not to care about us being from different species or that you work for the enemy. I’ve been honest with you from the start and I want that same honesty from you too. Is that too much to ask for?”

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. “No…you’re right. You deserve my honesty, as much as I can offer. And you deserve to know the truth.”

I looked him straight in the eye then, blue to gold and I voiced my feelings to him honestly, something I had never admitted to before, especially not out loud. “I’m in love with Damien. And I have been in love with him for over a century now.”

Lucas sucked in a deep breath as his eyes turned accusing. “You hid it very well, Trisha. So, if both of you are-”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Lucas. You have been, right from the start.” I said, cutting him off. “I’m the one in love, while Damien has always been the cold, heartless bastard who has only ever loved himself. He doesn’t care about my feelings or me. If he had, then he wouldn’t have tried to teach me a lesson for going against Vandal in the first place and I wouldn’t be a fugitive right now, hunted by my own race.”

“My instincts aren’t wrong, Trisha.” Lucas shook his head as he took a seat on the bed, maintaining some distance from me. “I’ve seen you guys on TV during court sessions. The way he looks at you? Only a man who’s in love will look at a woman like that.”

“I don’t know what you saw, Lucas, but I certainly didn’t see anything for the last hundred years.” I shrugged as my heart shattered all over again. “So, I’ll understand if you don’t want to keep me here anymore…”

Lucas lifted up my face with a finger under my chin. His eyes, this time were gentler than before. “My offer still stands. As a man, I can tell things about Damien that you can’t, just like you’ll be a better judge of how a woman might think. And even if Damien isn’t madly in love with you, which is completely ridiculous if you ask me; you’re still one of his most trusted people. So if you call, he’ll definitely show up.”

“Also,” he added. “I didn’t just give you shelter because of Damien. I gave you shelter so you and Neema can have a home. Not many people will go against their own race in order to save a human. And the fact that you did, shows just how incredibly strong willed you are and how wonderful you are as a person. And I admire that strength in you, Trisha. Just know that if you ever feel like giving up on your unrequited love…I’m right here for you to turn to.”

His words struck a chord in my heart, something Damien has never been able to do. So when he brought his lips closer to mine, I met him half-way. Just like before, the shock was a welcome surprise as our lips moved in sync. Lucas wrapped an arm around my waist and an instant later, I was lifted off the bed and onto his lap.

Lucas had a charm to him that I haven’t seen in my previous lovers, albeit they were all vampires. Maybe it was because he was a werewolf that he was so passionate about everything he said and did. And that passion called to me.

Why couldn’t I just be in love with Lucas? He could make any woman feel special, wanted and appreciated. And why did my mind keep going back to that one person who will never return my feelings? Because if he felt something…anything, he would’ve done something about it by now.

Pushing all thoughts of Damien at the back of my mind, I got lost in Lucas’s kiss. Contrary to what people thought, wolves did not smell like wet dogs. Their scent held an earthy undertone and the scent of the forest. Almost like the scent of the ground after a drizzle of rain. Lucas also held a spicy note in his scent and it’s what helped distinguish him from others. It was a scent I could get used to.

Lucas’s lips were soft but he kissed with fervent passion. My arms went to the silky soft strands of his hair as he wrapped his arms securely around me, pulling me flush against the hard muscles of his chest. I could feel his erratic heartbeat through his shirt thanks to our closeness and I knew my heart was beating just as fast. I felt the kiss through my entire body as he explored my lips with his. I have never been this turned on only by a kiss; Lucas was a skilled kisser.

When we pulled apart, we were both out of breath and the scent of arousal was heavy in the air.

I climbed off of Lucas’s lap when I felt his erection strain his pants, because I knew it wasn’t the right time. I couldn’t let Lucas be the rebound. He deserved better than that.

“It’s late…”Lucas said awkwardly as he got up. “You should go to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay…” I nodded as I watched him turn towards the door.

“And, just so you know…I don’t mind being your rebound.” He gave me a grin. “At least that way, I’ll have you all to myself.”

With that, he walked out the door and shut it behind him. I stared at the closed door for a good five minutes after he had left, blinking rapidly and trying to comprehend what he just told me.

Yes, even though I was in love with Damien, I still had plenty of relationships and lovers in the last two hundred years, as had Damien. But Damien had never settled down with anyone till date and that given me hope. But with Lucas…I didn’t think it could be just a fling. He was the kind of guy a girl would prefer to settle down with.

Shaking my head at the thought, I turned my gaze to the clock on the wall to find it was 2 in the morning. Damn, where had the time gone? How long had mine and Lucas’s make-out session actually lasted?

I desperately wanted to go to sleep, but I realized that I had to take a shower and change before I could actually indulge in that pleasure. With great difficulty, I got up from the bed and sluggishly made my way to the bathroom.

It was after my extremely long shower and completion of my night-time routines that I found it; what I’d been looking for, for so long. One of the papers must have fallen to the floor when I’d emptied the contents of the bag on to my bed. I accidentally dropped my moisturizer while applying it on my hands and I while picking it up, I found the letter under my bed.

I immediately reached for it and brought it closer for proper inspection. And that was when I knew I had found something valuable because it had a tiny red stamp on one side and that stamp was shaped like an Eagle in flight with a snake caught in its feet.

It was a logo I knew all too well, because it belonged to Vandal Rudolf. I immediately opened the letter, being careful at the same time because all of these letters were old. Some even dating back centuries.

I traced the lines through a hundred kins,

Drowned in the blood of innocent sins.

They rise through the ashes again and again,

A thousand years to life regain.

The Age has come, now it’s time,

Soon the Lord’s Son, will be mine.

Through all Ages I will rule,

To turn against me, will be a fool.

______V.R

I read the poem again and again, but no matter how many times I read it, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this poem had a hidden meaning. A secret message that I wasn’t getting yet. Also, whenever I read the words ‘Lord’s Son’, Neema’s face came to my mind. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this poem was written in reference to Neema.

But how could that be? This poem was written over forty years ago! How could Vandal even talk about Neema when he wasn’t even born back then?

“Think Trisha!” I rubbed at my temples. “This is big. Vandal doesn’t have his logo on all these poems. There has to be something special about this poem.”

I looked at the papers scattered in front of me. I’d been able to separate some of them, especially the party invites and a couple of training orders for the soldiers, but I’d separated out all the poetry I’d found. After the one I’d just found, I’m pretty sure these are hidden messages, and the only one who’ll know about these meanings will be Granny Dilliana.

But when I turned my eyes to the clock, it read three in the morning. There was no way anyone in the Sanctuary would be awake at this moment and if I try to get there now, the patrol guards would think I’m trying to escape. I guess there was no choice but to wait till morning.