Twenty-Six

Everything was silent, and I didn’t feel her presence anywhere. My demon raised its head, wanting me to set him free, and hunger gnawed at my body, hazing my mind. Once more she sneaked on me. I was already halfway off the bed, fuming and cursing, when my eyes caught some enormous piece of paper on the nightstand.
“Grizzly, I’m not gone. Calm down! I’m sure you are going out of your mind at this very moment, but I had business to attend. I’ll be back by lunchtime, bringing you some surprises. Feel yourself at home, and in the living room, there are shelves full of books. Please, don’t blow my house down while I’m gone. Liz.”
Liz… Like old times. My heart calmed a bit, and I swept my eyes around the room. Everything was perfect and organized, all soothing tones of white, light pink, and gray. The bed was immense for only one person, but I’m not complaining, as I can think of lots of naughty things to do on it. There were also some plants and fluffy things on top of furniture. I glanced around again. Everything was so foreign to me. When could I imagine living to see all these changes?
Shaking my head, I opened a door and led me to the bathroom. I could use a shower. I was already getting my way with this new concept of a bathroom. It was time to try it myself. It could fit a lake inside her bathtub, and a round gadget, just like the one on the cabin, but bigger, hung from her ceiling, right on top of the bathtub. At the cabin, I observed when she dealt with the handles, probably adjusting the water temperature. She wasn’t kidding when she said I had to see her shower. This one resembled a waterfall.
“Ouch! Son of… This is boiling!” I retracted my hand, taking to my chest and looking at my red, burning fingers. I hated all these. She should be here! They healed as soon as I checked on them. “Let’s try again.” After a while I was under the thing, enjoying the water washing down on me!
A lot of funny-looking bottles on a shelf called to my attention. I inspected them, reading what they were for. All different liquid soaps for every body part you can imagine. What’s wrong with people today? Why so many? One didn’t do the job? It took me a while to figure out how to open them, and I believe the containers were that plastic she told me about.
Her scent engulfed me. My mind went blank. Only Liz remained there. Lavender flowers mixed with berries, and I couldn’t hold the shudder going down my back and curling at the bottom of my stomach. I didn’t know if the water was too hot or my body was catching on fire, but I had to cool down a bit, and this time it got freezing cold, making me jump out of the stall and fall in the middle of the room. “Shit!” I grumbled. At least it calmed down my body, taking my mind from Liz for a little while.
Enough of that. I wasn’t feeling myself, and my patience was thinning. I dried off and put on the only pants I had at the moment and went to check the rest of the house. Why was she taking so long to come back? I wasn’t happy about her sneaking out by herself, leaving me here alone with all these new things to get acquainted with. I hated feeling so helpless, and it was getting on my nerves. She would have some explaining to do.
Hunger beat at me like the bear she called me. I liked it, she remembered. I raked my fingers through my messy hair, restless, while the other hand balled into a fist. Dread and loss crept in my soul, and my demon roared in my head, making it difficult to think clearly. As the minutes passed, it got worse. He wanted to find her, dominate and tell her he didn’t like her to be out and about, she belonged to him. I had to find something to distract myself. The books. Maybe I could do some research and take my mind from her.
I paid little attention to anything. I just wanted to get to the books. Curiosity got me, and I wanted to see how my land turned out to be, as I fought so much for its freedom and to make it whole. A quick look at the window told me it was nasty cold outside. The snow had covered everything. Why had she gone out in this weather?
The entire wall of shelves went from ceiling to floor, with all kinds of books on it, from old to new. That was a blessing. They were the one thing I could deal with. There was a full shelf with books marked as Middle Ages, the dates from 5th to 15th centuries, and a bunch about the 1400s. I just couldn’t help the smirk that took my face, my little feisty woman obsessed with my time period, and I took it as a good sign, so getting one, I sat on the couch, the cushions were so soft, I almost sank in them.
I flicked through the book without absorbing one word from it, but my head always wandered to Liz. Hunger mixed with irritation and anxiety got me again. My canines lengthened, and it scared me a lot. Why was I having trouble controlling my demon? This was the first time I struggled to keep my mind sharp and focused. The hunger I was feeling clouded my mind. I tried to concentrate and sense my surroundings for any unlucky human around, so I could use it to assuage this maddening hunger, but there wasn’t a single soul a mile away, and with the weather I doubted there was any wolf-like creature walking by.
Since the monk cursed me, I always rested as the human I used to be, only placing myself into a slumber when I had to, for my own sanity, and for short periods of time. But a little over a hundred years ago I had to bury myself away from every living being, so angry I had been with God to take her away from me once more, but I never intended to sleep this long.
I stood up from the couch, my heart pounding in my ears, and the only thing hammering in my mind was the fear of losing her again. Liz had to understand she couldn’t leave my side until I learned to control myself around her. I didn’t understand the reason everything was so different this time around. I paced back and forth in her living room like a caged tiger.
My mind was far gone, and at that moment my human part was nowhere to be found. The smooth rumble of that thing she rode came to my ears, and my demon took over, cutting the last piece of restraint I had over him. Anxiety, fear and hunger blinded me and once she came through the door, I leapt on her so fast she screamed, and everything in her hands fell to the floor. She didn’t even have the time to defend herself or run. I gripped her so hard to me, smashing her to my chest.
“VLAD! What are you doing? What possessed you?” She stared at me, and for once I saw fear in there. Now we were getting somewhere. “Why, why are your eyes glowing like that?” Her voice trembled as her eyes fixated on mine.
“Well, it’s time for you to meet my demon.” Her breath caught in her throat, and those beautiful lavenders stared at me in terror. “Where have you been? You’re not supposed to go out without me!” My voice boomed roughly through the room, and even for my ears, it sounded foreign. I just wanted her with me.
The fear of losing her again made me lose my line of thinking, and the hunger eating at my soul just made it worse. I acted on instinct. I pulled my lips and bared my teeth like a rabid wolf. Her eyes widened, her face turned into a grimace, and the terror that was there earlier gave way to annoyance. My Liz was never annoyed with me, and that made me even more dangerous. She wasn’t scared of me anymore.
“You’re mine, and you do as I say.” I whispered in her ear. “Do you hear me?” I felt her body tense against mine, and the thunderous beat of her heart against her rib cage. Her beautiful face turned sour, and her lavenders hidden behind slits. In a moment of weakness, paying attention to all the emotions boiling inside her. I missed the sparkles that crackled around us, and it was too late. She sent me flying to the other side of the room, and I fell against the fireplace, feeling a sharp pain in my head.