Thirty-Three

London UK, the 1880s.

My head blacked out for an instant, and I couldn’t find my words. I stared at her in wonder. She was still young, but the important thing was that we met again. Happiness assaulted my being, and I got too excited to contain myself.
“I beg your pardon, young lady?” I answered her. She was around seventeen, taller, much taller than before, skinny, and with a pale complexion, but her registered marks never changed, her light chestnut hair, those violet eyes and the alluring perfume of lavender and berries.
“You can’t treat people this way.” She chastised me in a sweet tone. It was a pity she didn’t know how cute she sounded.
“Sorry sir, daughter doesn’t know manners.” The man apologized, trying his best English, looking at his feet.
“On the contrary. Your daughter is a kind young woman,” I told him in Russian. Her pupils dilated in surprise to the point of the violet almost disappearing in them. It was priceless.
“I’m sorry, Alya, is that right?” she nodded.
“Aliaksandra, but you can call me Alya.”
“My intentions were not to be rude, I got nervous with the disarray, as I couldn’t find you in the crowd.” I forgot all about the surrounding people, such was my joy.
“Me? How come?” She frowned and gave me a quizzical look.
“Let’s call fate. And who are these…”
“They are my parents and my brothers. They barely speak English, sir.” She introduced them to me before I finished my sentence. “We are from Russia, and we are here trying to find jobs.” Someone moved on my side, bringing me back to Earth again. Everybody was paying attention to the conversation unfolding there. So, I changed to Russian again.
“Please, let’s go to my office, and we’ll talk. Too many eyes and ears around us.”
They had already found a small house, not in a good part of the city, but it was what they could afford. I gave her parents full-time jobs on my dock, and I assigned Alya to some chores in my office. This way I could monitor her and get to know her better.
She was shy at first, but with time she bloomed, becoming chatty, and every evening I would accompany her home. She was still too young, and I kept my distance. I could be a lot of things, but I wasn’t a pervert. I had time, and I could wait. My demon gave me a hard time every evening when I had to part from her. He wasn’t happy about it, and I had to leash him tight. I wasn’t happy either, as I still had the dread feeling of losing her.
Alya was fun to be with. So much life and laughter in her. And with time, we got into a comfortable friendship. Lately, I could feel the pull to her getting stronger, as I caught her glancing at me several times when she thought I wasn’t looking, and when our eyes met, she would blush scarlet. She was about to be twenty, and I had prepared a beautiful surprise for her.
I wanted her family to move into a house inside my property, and also permission to court her the way she deserved. What I didn’t expect was Baxley men, barging armed at my headquarters one late afternoon, pointing a gun at her. My temperature rose. I thought I’d combust while my demon roared in my ears, wanting out. That bastard had balls to defy me in broad daylight, and by the surprised look on her face while being held by one man, I knew she saw my eyes glowing.
Old Baxley had retired. His son, John, took over the business, and he was a dangerous son of a bitch. Since I had beaten the crap out of him a few years back, and I didn’t regret it since he was the rapist wreaking havoc on my side of the city, it’d be obvious he held a grudge against me. For that, he had sworn to take me down, and just now I came to realize I had been so enthralled by my new Liz these last two years, that I had gone easy on my enemies. Of course, Anton kept track of them, but we had a lot to take care of and Anton was getting softer with time.
“Try nothing, Vlad, or she’s gonna get hurt, besides I have a bunch of men surrounding this place.” I didn’t smell fear on her. Instead, she was not only calm but also in peace, staring at me like she knew the turmoil going inside my soul, and didn’t want to add to it. “Boss sent us as a warning.”
Anton, come to my office and bring the men, ARMED! I summoned him, and his worry and anger filled my mind.
“Ok, let her go, and we can resolve this between us,” I hissed at them, as Anton rushed in with guns aimed at their heads. The tension spiked up, stilling the air.
“Tell your feeble boss, we’ve got the message. Let her be and leave.” Anton told them with gritted teeth in a deadly, bitter voice. “Alya, go to Vlad.” She nodded, and they let her go. “Get out, now!” But that wasn’t the end. As soon as I had her in my arms, Anton and the men fired at them point-blank. Alya screamed, hiding her face in my chest, clutching at my shirt. Her heartbeat was so fast I feared it would explode.
“It’s ok, dragă. Everything will be fine.”
“No. It won’t, Vlad. You don’t understand, do you?” A glimpse of my Liz was there, and I stiffened as I heard her words. “Please, Mr. Dryden, take me home!” She begged. Those lavenders were full of tears behind the thick lashes.
The following week was a living hell. We did everything to muffle the case so the police wouldn’t chase our asses. But the word was out in the criminal underworld. Thus the entire week we’ve been busy in our private room, as we walked on pins and needles, waiting for retaliation. What made me even more suspicious, because it never came.
That morning a sense of dread filled my body to the point I shivered and goosebumps erupt on my skin. It was a rare feat I felt that way. Something was wrong. Suddenly, I fell on my fours as the intensity of the pain tearing through me, my breathing became labored, and I hissed, bearing my fangs. Liz! And right after, her father invaded my office.
“Mr. Dryden! Please, help!” His face was a mask of terror, and my heart slowed to a sluggish rhythm, in which I braced myself for the worst.
“Say at once, man! What happened to Alya?”
“People invaded my home and took her away. They told me to give you this.” He handed me a piece of paper with an address on it, telling me where to meet them. Baxley, that bastard! I crumpled the paper in my hands.
“Go back to your family, and I’ll take care of this, I’ll bring her home.” Sending Anton all the details, I left.
At the stash house, I smelled the air. She was somewhere underground, and the sweet smell of her blood was pungent all over. I could sense John Baxley and five others with him. I didn’t even make myself known barging through the door like a rabid wolf, going straight for his throat and smashing him to the wall. My demon wanted out, and I unleashed him. I just didn’t care anymore. His men stood up in a jump, guns in hand, aiming at me.
“Don’t move or I’ll rip your boss to shreds!” I growled, my eyes glowing golden and bearing my full, lengthened fangs at them. The men looked at me horrified, some making the sign of the cross, others started praying. “What did you do to her!” I roared, my furious breath burning at his face.
“If you kill me, she dies,” he spat at me, trying to sound confident, but he was just like his father, a coward. I could smell fear all over him.
“Where is she?” He gave himself away, glancing at the basement door. I dragged him by the hair downstairs, while he screamed in pain, and his body hit every step until there.
The man who’s been guarding her ran upstairs shouting “the devil”. Yes, that was what people called me my entire existence, so I couldn’t care less. Then a body at the corner came into view, and I couldn’t guess if it was her or a rag doll. My heart came to my throat and my chest constricted with pain. I was still holding that asshole in my hand, so I threw him at the wall full force, and he hit his head with a loud crack, painting the white with gushes of red.
“No!” she whispered once I was about to finish him. I froze at the sound of her voice; it was so low, only my acute hearing could have listened to it, making me turn to her. “No, Vlad!” she was still alive. My soul filled with hope as I left his body to fall to the ground and crossed the room, gathering her to me.
“What had they done to you, dragă? Why?” I was incapable at that moment to hold my tears. Heavy drops fell on her face, washing away a bit of the blood. They beat her to death, all broken and scraped. Just like I did to him once. But she was defenseless. How could someone be this cruel to such a sweet girl? “You have no clue about the beast you awakened, Baxley! All of you are dead corpses!” I screamed at him.
“Aren’t we all, bastard!” Baxley said in a laughing fit as I stared at him, possessed.
“No, you won’t retaliate. Justice is coming for him. It doesn’t need to be through your hands. Listen to me, my love!”
“I’m so damn tired, Liz. Please, take me with you!” I begged her. Those beautiful lavenders fixed at me once more.
Alya had already gone, but my Liz still hung in there. A dark shadow spread in the room, and an oppressive feeling hit me in the guts, as if there was someone lurking around, watching us and ready to strike.
“Time hasn’t come yet.” She tried to touch my face, and I kissed the center of her palm, bringing it to my cheek. Her long fingers were so cold. “I miss you, bear…” I felt her waning down. It was impossible to save her.
“Liz… don’t go…”
“Vlad, people have badly hurt you in the past, but you have to give them a chance, or this loop will never end.” She relaxed in my arms. “I know you mean well, you're a protector, but you don’t need to resort to violence all the time.” She closed her eyes, and my heart stuttered to a stop.